The Warlord
by Fanpireish
Summary: The most powerful vampire in the world has a mate, but there's one problem... She's human. Claimed at birth, Bella Swan soon discovers the world she was born into, and what it all entails. Jasper Whitlock, the God of War, will be her husband, and she will be his queen. Darksper/Spunkella/AU/lemons.
1. A Mate

**A/N This is my first time writing in a while so please be gracious- at least at first. Any input is fantastic!**

 **This will be a plot-based story. I will probably add lemons in the future but for now I am focusing on the story and character development.**

 **This story is AU: Set in the heart of Texas, vampires don't sparkle in the sunlight. In fact, they can look almost normal, except for their eyes. They cannot tan, so they are paler than the average person, but they are otherwise "normal" looking.**

* * *

 **Chapter One- A Mate**

Jasper's POV

Running. That's all I cared about. News of a baby had brought joy to my otherwise violent life. Charlie Swan had done me wrong many years ago. Back when I lived in Forks along with the Cullens, Officer Swan had helped to kill my human "mate".

All that I cared about back then was their smell. If they smelled good enough, I would skip eating them and take them in as mates. They were never my true mate. I can tell by the lack of memories I have with them. I can't even remember their names, honestly.

When he killed her, I wasn't heartbroken, I just wanted revenge. I don't even remember what she did wrong but I remember going to Officer Swan's house, tying up his pretty girlfriend and him, and killing her in front of him. In order to spare his life, he agreed to be matched up with a woman of my choice for marriage and breeding. Breeding isn't the right word- not this in sense at least. I breed for the sake of eating. My army won't feed themselves, and a breeding program keeps law enforcement at bay.

The idea of having them… Procreate? Yes, that's the word, was to hopefully get a mate for myself, a real, eternity long mate. I wanted to be the one to raise her from afar, molding her into my perfect match. Give her all that she needed, and when she turned 18, take her for myself. Not for pleasure, but to present her to my Court of Elders for approval and to finish her schooling. The fun stuff would happen after that. Being the most powerful vampire in the world, singlehandedly raising an army up and destroying the Volturi, an act that has left me at the top of the world, makes me a very public figure. All law breakers come through me, and my queen has to be perfect.

When I heard that Charlie and his wife were expecting a little girl, I went to him, and he acknowledged the agreement. He knows by now not to fuck with me. Any type of rule breaking by him (disappearing, fleeing from me, lying, and so on) does not go unpunished. For this particular agreement, I told him that if he refused, I would kill him and take the baby anyway.

The trees turned into city streets, and I slowed down enough to call Alice, my old "brother's" mate. The Cullens and I are still on good terms. They live in my compound and have freedom to do what they like. They are also all members of my Elder Court.

"Alice? Hello? Fuck these payphones. I'm on the corner we agreed on. Which car is mine? Okay. Thank you. Please tell Charlotte to get today's meals ready."

Charlotte was Peter's mate. Together they make my two hands in men. They came back into my life after leaving for over 100 years just after I left the Cullens. I left the clan because my Major urges were flaring up. I _needed_ control. I oversee everything in my compound, and in the vampire world. I guess I took Aro's job more or less, except with more power. That slug was the easiest to kill out of all the Volturi. He expected some sort of respect, and I saved him for last. I will never forget the look on his face when he realized he was going to die. While I'm overseeing everything, Peter controls the vampires in the compound. He kills when he sees fit, and trains when Charlotte sends him a new one.

Vampires are free to live here, and can ask to leave. Some are allowed to start their own clans with a promise to support and follow me. The humans are Charlotte's problem. They try to escape, and she has to kill them for that. It's like some just _want_ to be tonight's meal. The humans have to eat, so she takes time every week to go buy food for them. They mostly eat the same shit. Protein, healthy shit, I don't know. I haven't eaten in so long I can't even remember what food looks like.

A few days ago, I got a call from Charlie. Renee –his wife- went into labor. I growled into the phone when he told me this. It was far too early for labor. I immediately sent him to Dallas to get the care they needed. Today, Isabella Marie Swan was born 6 weeks premature.

I went into the hospital, and got straight into an elevator. Though I am on a diet of human blood, I am very good about feeding strictly on those in my compound. I only feed otherwise when I am helping Peter train new vampires how to hunt. When the elevator arrived onto the floor of the maternity ward, I immediately went to the room where Charlie and Renee were. I knocked before entering, and when I opened the door, I was disappointed to find that Bella was not in there. I instantly turned to Charlie.

"Where is she?" I asked as calmly as I could muster. "Jasper, she is in the NICU. She's in distress right now. The doctor tried her hardest to stop the labor but Bella decided to be a rule breaker and enter the world early." Charlie chimed back. If I had blood, it would be boiling. Rule breaker? My potential mate? The baby that I picked the name out for? The baby that I ensured had the best time possible in her mother? No fucking way. "She is _not_ a rule breaker, Charlie. She is a baby." I pinched the bridge of my nose, letting myself calm down, before rerouting my anger deep back into my brain. One of the vampires at the compound was going to get it after this. "Do you at least have a picture? Anythi-" before I could finish, a nurse wheeled in a tiny incubator which held a tiny baby. "She's stable now, stable enough to be in here with you guys for a little bit. Oh, a visitor! I would have thought after that long labor, you would have wanted to rest…" I didn't like this nurse. "Making assumptions will get you killed. Get out. Now." I hissed through my teeth. This was not the way I wanted any of this to go.

In fact, I had a plan for her birth. I had planned for the couple to come to the compound to get treatment by Carlisle, and for me to cut her cord. The nurse left without another word, something that even I was surprised by. After staring at the door for a good five minutes, my ears picked up the slightest unrest from the incubator. The baby- Bella- was moving. I looked over for the first time, and stared into her eyes. "That's funny," said Renee, "she hasn't opened her eyes for much of anything since she was born, what Char? Two, three hours ago now?"

In that moment, I knew that this baby… Isabella and I had the same thought. Deep in our minds, we both knew, we're mates. I stuck my hand in the incubator and let her hold my finger. Never had I been so touched by something so gentle. I felt my lips curl into a smile, and I carefully rubbed her paper-like skin. She let out a very weak cry, and I instantly knew that I had been too rough. As gentle as I could be was still too rough for my mate, I was heartbroken. I took my finger out of the incubator and just stared at the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

* * *

 **Commenter's choice: Should the next chapter be a** _ **very**_ **long one and feature all of Bella's childhood up to 18, or should I break up her childhood into several chapters?** _ **OR**_ **should I skip her childhood altogether and summarize it at the beginning of the next chapter?**


	2. A Child Grows Up

**A/N Hello! I woke up to reviews and have decided to take a few into consideration. I will summarize the majority of her childhood but put some details in for significant events. Then, we will move into Bella's POV for her eighteenth birthday! As far as updates, I'm not sure how much I will actually post but I want you guys to know I will be writing every day.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – A Child Grows Up**

 **JPOV**

When Isabella was an infant, I used to take her to the compound for weeks at a time. Renee used to come along as well, to feed her. If I could have fed her myself, I would have. I didn't like anyone else near her when she was in my study with me. I would hold her, and a heavy wool blanket would be in between us. I guess a cold vampire will make a baby cold, so I followed Carlisle's advice about the blankets. When she was asleep, I could get some work done. When she was awake, however, I would whisper to her about the future I was planning. I would do anything to see her baby cheeks get bigger with a smile, and that little giggle she had was the best music in the world.

Seeing her whenever I wanted was supposed to be permanent. It really was. Unfortunately, I royally fucked it up. Let me explain something before I tell you how. When vampires are true mates, their bodies make the blood inside taste sweet to their partner. If you bite your vampire- or human- mate, and their blood is bitter, you should probably start looking for the next one. Humans' blood does this for their vampire mates because this is like finding a soulmate. The process of changing salt into sugar in humans is this process. When a human is changed into a vampire, this process changes to changing the blood they consume into a sweet drink for their mate.

Now for the fuck up. When Bella had just turned four, still far too young to remember anything in great detail, she called me Jazzy. She concocted that name with all the love in the world for me. At that time, I was a father figure with her, and I was okay with that. I was her silent protector, following the car that would take her home two hours to her home in a suburb of Dallas on foot. This is also the age I forced myself to stop seeing her. I made her family move out of state. Convinced that Arizona was the best place for them, I put a ban on any vampire travel to the state. You may be wondering what on earth made me go to this extreme, and when you hear, you will agree it was the best choice for her- I wasn't her protector anymore, I could have easily become her murderer.

She was playing in my study one afternoon. Rosalie and Emmett were in for a meeting. They were both very close to Isabella. Everyone in my Court was. She was a little angel to everyone. She was social, and always asked every single person she could find for cookies, which were her absolute favorite food. She was starting to get into things but I was too busy talking to Rosalie and Emmett to really pay much attention to her. "Jazzy, Uncle Emm, Aunt Rose! Look what I have!" With a giggle, I saw she was holding a glass orb that usually stood on one of my bookshelves. She had to have climbed to get it, she was too small to have just reached it. "Isabella. Put that down. Now. Give it to me." I thought she would listen, but instead she smiled and screamed "NO!" She started running toward the door, probably to run around the fortress I called a house until she ran into Alice, Edward, or Charlotte.

She didn't make it that far. I boomed at her, "ISABELLA." I stood up, though looked down at some papers on my desk, figuring she couldn't get out of the door fast enough to make it past me. As soon as I looked down, I heard a shattering, banging, and crying. I looked up and saw something I couldn't wait to feed on. The glass orb had shattered, and a piece had gone into her hand. Farther up her arm, another piece had scraped her, leaving a beautiful crescent-shaped cut that oozed with blood. Before I could stop myself, I was on her, feeding on her blood. I tried as hard as I could to stop but the vampire in me wouldn't let me. Time slowed down immensely. Emmett and Rosalie have the best temperament for blood out of any vampire I had ever seen, as Emmett quickly got me into a chokehold, and Rosalie scooped Bella up and ran as fast as she could out of the room. Emmett screamed in my ear, asking what the hell I was thinking, telling me she could have died.

For the next few hours, everything was still. The glass orb was not cleaned up, and the blood from it was still slowly dripping onto the Tiger fur rug I had hunted and killed myself. Emmett was sitting with me, thumbing through his phone and waiting for Rosalie's call. As soon as it came, I was on my feet listening intently. Thanks to my hearing, I caught everything. "She's okay. I took her to Carlisle in Austin. He got the glass out and she had to get three stitches on her hand. Five in her arm. It was quite the cut, Emm… I'm so glad he didn't- well, you know. Renee and Charlie came and picked her up. Carlisle thought that was best." Emmett looked at me when Rosalie said the last part, and I quietly nodded, a look of defeat no doubt on my face.

Two weeks after the incident, I called Charlie and arranged for him to come pick up money that would help him move to Arizona. The same conversation took place when I moved him and Renee to Texas from their small town life in Washington. "Charlie. You know that everything I do is in _her_ best interest," I couldn't even say Isabella's name. "You will move." Charlie retorted with the same thing he said when he left Washington, "You know I can't just leave my job! Where will I find work? I've climbed the ranks here, Jasper." I rolled my eyes and gave my final answer, "Alice will accompany you to Arizona. You will tell Isabella that she is an Aunt living with y'all. This is the final say on the matter. You will move. I will give you enough money to last several years without work. Additionally, Alice has access to the compound's funds and will help you in any way you need."

Charlie and Renee moved, knowing well enough not to disobey me. Each year that passed was a filled with calls from Alice every other day regarding Isabella. Alice told me that Isabella no longer asked about me, after I demanded she be punished when she did ask. I didn't want her childhood to go like this but the faster she got her memories of me out of system, the better. Every year a new birthday card filled with a handwritten letter and hundreds of dollars went sealed but unsent in my desk drawer. I loved my mate, and wanted to give her everything I could. I wanted to wish her a happy birthday every year, and so I did. I also wanted her to be safe from me. I didn't know where Alice moved the family to, and I went searching one time.

When Isabella was seven years old, I ran to Arizona in a fit of rage. Vampires were not allowed to be there, yet some decided to dwell dangerously close to my mate. I didn't know exactly how close at the time, though Alice seemed very concerned that they knew where she was. What better way to kill the Warlord inside than kill his mate? They got to Renee, killing her, but Alice had grabbed Isabella and Charlie and ran with them all the way to Salt Lake City to escape. I killed the vampires, an act that let everyone in the vampire world know that I was not fucking around. After I killed them, I heard something very familiar. Charlie's voice. I ran toward it, not even a block away from the vampires. Inside of a bedroom window, a pink room with blue polka dots was illuminated by a single desk lamp. Isabella was snuggled warm in her bed, Charlie reading a tale about Santa Claus to her. Fuck, it was Christmas Eve. I stayed and watched for a while, holding onto a tree branch until Isabella was almost asleep. I then jumped down and ran far beyond the backyard, to where Alice's scent led me. In a barren desert field, we had a conversation. "Jesus, Alice. Why didn't you tell me it was Christmas?" Alice snorted, "It's not my fault the Major can't remember dates. Yes, Jasper, I got her the teddy bear you requested I buy. The one with diamond eyes. It's from 'J.' don't worry, Jasper. She's doing great." I smiled at that, and left Arizona in high spirits. They weren't to last.

As soon as I got back to the compound, Peter, Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle caught up to me. "Jasper. They're coming. Maria has said for years that she would raise an army up against you. She feels that she deserves this power more than you do," Carlisle said. Peter went on, "The newborns are ready to fight. It's looking like she will be here in the morning." Perfect, I thought, A Christmas feast. "Okay. Peter, I want you to discuss the situation with Charlotte. The humans need to be safeguarded. No vampire from her army will enter the buildings. The bloodshed will be contained within the compound, is that understood?" I made the compound huge for a reason. In between Austin and Dallas, I bought myself several hundred acres. I bought out whole towns to use. Then, I built a wall. I paid the government money to keep it quiet. The days of the Volturi were over, and the high ranking government officials I told knew the truth about us. We agreed that we would keep Texas safe in exchange for land. We had done this in other states as well. Next time you see a huge compound that looks slightly like a jail, yet more glamourous, I probably own it. We have camps around the country keeping humans safe. My war is not against humans. It is against vampires that get in my way.

As dawn broke, I stood waiting. I had warned the governor about the impending danger, and he cleverly created an accident on major highways close to the compound in the night. With the highway shut down-no highway traffic nearby, and no cities to be seen, we were almost assured a zero human casualty fight. Maria walked to me, an army of hundreds following her. I guess she didn't take this seriously. I had an army of thousands. Maria strode up to me and offered her hand. Like the southern gentleman I am, I took it. "Maria, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Maria smiled, "Jasper Whitlock. I always loved your politeness, you know that?" I don't believe anything she says, but to be courteous, I smiled back. "Well, I sure do try. Is there anything I can help you with, ma'am?" She smirked, almost seductively, and whispered in my ear, "we could join you instead of fight you- if you take me as your queen." My gut churned. I was fully devoted to my now seven year old mate. I wondered if Maria knew about her but decided that she couldn't. No vampires that had knowledge of her existence and purpose were traitors. The few that had figured it out, like the coven in Arizona, had happened across Alice and deduced her reasoning for tightly guarding a human family. All of those covens were dead. I had made sure of it.

I snapped out of my thoughts and addressed Maria. "Actually, I have a mate, dear. I'm afraid you missed me by, well, seven years." Her face contorted. A look of confusion now shown like a reflection in a mirror. It was clear that her whole purpose in coming was not to fight me at all. I laughed softly. "My dearest Maria… You brought this," I looked past her at the mature vampires that had hardly any strength in them at all, "uh, army here to intimidate me. You were never planning to fight. You wanted to coerce me to make you my second half. You were too late, so now you will go back to hell, where you belong, and try to come up with another way to get your hands on the power you so desperately want yet I so effortlessly achieved." I was smirking in a sadistic way. She knew she had messed up. She huffed and shook her head, rage filling her eyes. She slapped me across the face, which I allowed. I would much rather see her get angry and bring me a real fight than destroy her now and miss out on fun. She left without another word, and I turned back to Peter. "Peter, I'm not sure she's gone for good. Edward is to join Alice in Arizona. They will wait until she is thirteen. Then, they will tell her they're vampires. I want her to know what to look for, Maria is ruthless. If she finds out Bella isn't here in this compound… I don't even want to think about it. As for immediate action, feed your 50 strongest newborns, and your 25 strongest mature vampires. They will guard the wall at all times for at least the week."

Peter nodded and turned toward the biggest building in the compound, the house. The house was nestled toward the middle of the compound. In front of it, a picturesque lake surrounded by a forest filled with animals for us to hunt. The lake was relatively big. It used to be a water source for a small town. It had a small gazebo on an island in the middle, and small boats on a dock at the shore. There was a small beach, large enough for a small party. It had a volley ball net in it. Charlotte came up to me next, awaiting her orders about the humans. "What shall I do about the living ones, sir?" Living ones? Sir? I smiled a bit at her, but cringed at the sir. "You should call me Jasper. You are the wife of one of my best friends, and you yourself are one of my most trusted advisors. As for the humans, I would like them to stay locked down for the time being. They can move around in their little village, but are absolutely to abide by your rules." The humans lived in the towns that my purchase engulfed. They were not the original citizens of the town, rather the product of breeding and less than 20 kidnappings. They each lived where they were assigned, and with whom they were assigned. During a lockdown, they were moved to the biggest town and assigned to live in state of the art vampire proof bunkers. I came up with the design myself. The walls make it impossible for even the smell of one hundred humans to escape.

I went into my study and wrote down everything I could about the army. What their eyes looked like, their stature. They weren't trained. Maria was lost without me by her side. They wouldn't be attacking me for a while.

 **Bella's POV**

Last week, I turned fifteen. It's been two years since I learned about the truth of the world. I rebelled against the humans. Thinking I knew better, I ran off. It was my fifteenth birthday when I ran off. I stole Alice's car and just drove. Alice and Edward were out hunting, so I knew I had at least a little bit of time. I wasn't angry at anyone, I just wanted to know the truth. I've been on the run for about a week, though I know my time is limited out here. Eventually the trackers that Edward and Alice know will catch up to me, and take me back. For now, I'm in Phoenix. I'm using Alice's driver's license, and I cut my hair to make myself look more convincing as her. I have her credit card, which I use to make purchases. I make the purchases to look like I'm somewhere, then I run to the car and drive to the opposite side of the city. My father is a cop. He likes his job, and I'm pretty sure she has a notice out for the car. I have to be very careful around cops. Do nothing to attract their interest.

I was driving for a while when I saw a cruiser pull up behind me. The lights flashed, and I knew the gig was up. Shit. I pulled over and tried to look as confident as possible. It didn't work. I was arrested for grand theft auto, driving without a license, and other boring stuff. I was held in an individual cell given that I was a minor, and waited for my dad to show up. Except, it wasn't my dad that showed up. It was a man with sandy blonde hair that looked like it needed a brush through it. He had eyes like Alice and Edward's, and he was laughing with the police officers at the front desk when they brought me out to him. "Hey, have a good day, Jasper. Next time you're around, I want to tell you about the time I took down a 200 pound wrestler after his match!" exclaimed one officer, who was clearly a friend of this Jasper. He reminded me of someone in a dream I had once. I was told that the scar on my hand and arm were from a car accident I was in when I was young. I was also told that the crazy story I had made up of someone attacking me was a dream I had because the truth was too horrific for me to remember. While I only had a few stitches, my mother passed away in the crash. Alice and Edward's cousin, Rosalie happened to be in the area, and saved me but couldn't save my mother.

Jasper led me to a matte black Audi R8, where he opened the door for me to get in the passenger's seat. Once we started driving, I noticed that Phoenix was going farther away, and we weren't going toward my house. "Uh, Jasper? My house is the other way… Who are you by the way?" He looked at me, eyes black as the night sky, and hissed through his teeth, "I am a friend of Edward and Alice's. I am taking you home how I see fit. What were you doing away from your house?" I was confused. Why the hell did he care? "I-I don't know. I guess I just wanted to get out of the house for a little bit... Learn about the real world. I'm stuck in there except to go to school! I can't even see my boyfriend!" Jasper snapped. Immediately, and without another word, Jasper made a beeline to my house.

 **JPOV**

After Isabella was inside, Alice and Edward came outside. Edward read Jasper's mind before Jasper had a chance to speak. "Jasper. The boyfriend is a situation we take very seriously. We have not had a chance to break them up yet, however. Please, trust us when we say we only just found out about this a week ago." Edward said. Jasper was shocked, a week ago? "Surely they were dating far before that," Jasper started, only to be interrupted by Alice, "Yes, she was. She admitted it to us but… well…" "Well what?" Barked Jasper. "Well," Edward started, "I can't read her thoughts. Alice can only see some parts of her future. Not at the school though. You know there are werewolves there. Alice can't see past them."

I was confused. They couldn't see her? I instantly figured out why. She was a blocker. One of the rarest gifts one can have, blockers are undoubtedly among the most prestigious of vampires. God damn, this woman was _made_ for me.

I did know there were werewolves at her school. In fact, I knew them well. Descendants of the Apache tribe, they had turned due to presence of other vampires in Arizona. I went to meet with them, where they agreed to be on my side in the event of war. Most of the werewolves were on my side. The ones who weren't either hadn't been asked due to their small numbers, or had decided against it when I asked. I didn't kill them though. I simply didn't offer any safety in return for them.

Changing my focus back to the issue at hand, I looked at Alice. "Take care of this boy problem. No boyfriends. Not now, not ever. She's _mine,_ Alice. I will _not_ compete with a human." With that I was off. Back to Texas, back to not worrying for an entire week about the fate of my mate. My instructions to Edward had been clear. Though not spoken, I was very careful to think precisely. _You are to punish her. No after-school activities for a month. No cell phone for a month. No television for a month. Fifteen licks across her ass. Make them hard._ If I had decided to punish her, I would have killed her. I was as furious as I had ever been at her. It was also not my place to punish her. Yet.

When she was a young child, I would spank her for getting into things, but she knew me back then. Now, I had delegated that task to Edward and Charlie. Alice wouldn't hit her. She was too attached to her.

 **BPOV**

I woke up easily enough today. It's my eighteenth birthday. Alice, as usual, had come in and ripped all the sheets off of me so that I would wake up faster. Charlie always followed her around asking why she had to wake me up like that, to which she always replied "Because, Charlie. I let her sleep in, and she needs to get to school." This morning, however, the sun was noticeably lower in the sky, and the view from my window looked more like overcast and clouds than dawn. I knew Alice had woken me up especially early by the fact that Charlie didn't follow her around like he usually does. "Alice, why?" Was all that I could muster. When I opened my eyes, Alice and Edward were standing over me, with a shadowed figure sitting at my desk, hidden by the darkness in that half of the room. Alice was holding a cupcake with a single candle on it. I have to give her credit, she really learned how to cook and bake when I was younger. "Happy birthday! It's a big one for you!" Alice piped, clearly excited. Did they not see the person behind them, who had now stood up and was carefully moving toward me? "Uh, who is that, guys?" Suddenly, he appeared. Jasper. I hadn't seen Jasper in three years. I certainly wasn't expecting to ever see him again. "Good morning, beautiful," Jasper said, "and happy birthday." He handed me an envelope with a birthday card inside of it. Inside of the card, he had put five $100 bills. I couldn't explain to myself why he was in my room. Clearly a vampire, but also clearly creepy. Dad walked up to the doorway and nodded toward Jasper. So they knew each other but I had only seen him once.

"Thanks everyone," I smiled, covering myself up in my blanket, "can I get dressed? I have school in," I checked my alarm clock, "holy shit five minutes!" I immediately shooed them away, to no avail. "Actually, you're done with school." Jasper was talking now. I was surprised he was the one speaking at all. I had just started my senior year, and was nowhere near proficient in calculus. "You'll be coming with me, to Texas. Alice and Edward will join us. Charlie, too, if he wishes." My dad shook his head, fighting back tears, "No, you know what I want." Jasper nodded. Alice could see the confusion in my eyes, and tried to reassure me "Bella, you don't have to worry about packing, everything is going to be sent to you that you need. You'll also have quite the selection of clothes in Texas, thanks to me, of course. Come on, get dressed quickly and we will explain everything in the car on the way."

Though I didn't know Jasper well, I trusted Edward and Alice with my life. They left the room to go talk to Charlie. I searched for my phone, aiming to text a few friends that I was leaving, but they had taken it. I got dressed and grabbed my Teddy Bear. It had diamond eyes and his name was J. J is, of course, affectionately named after the person who gave me J, in an anonymous Christmas gift when I was seven, just after my mother died. Alice used to spray J with her perfume to help me smell her when it was time to go to sleep. I walked downstairs and Alice grabbed my hand. "You're going to _love_ it in Texas! You can have anything you want anytime you want it, and I think our rooms are next to each other." She smiled and lead me out to the car, here I would be taken to my new life. Confused and helpless, I got in the car. My helplessness was eased miraculously, and filled with content. Edward was driving, Alice was in the passenger seat, and Jasper was in the backseat with me, watching me intently.

* * *

 **Hopefully you guys liked that!**


	3. The Move in

**A/N Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter! Dolly Parton's Jolene was the inspiration of this chapter. Something you will learn about me is that I love the southwest United States. This song reminds me of it every time. Also, check out my new story, Running to Fate. Nobody has reviewed yet so I'm waiting patiently to see if I should continue it.**

* * *

 **Alice POV**

I was absolutely giddy. By the time we hit New Mexico, Bella was as talkative as ever. She was telling all of us about her high school, and though Edward and I already knew most of it, The emotional blanket Jasper projected throughout the car let us know he was happy to be hearing from her. The most hardass, fair, and punishing vampire in the world was completely happy in this moment. Bella was for him, and I could sense that she could feel it, too.

 **Jasper POV**

I was excited to be hearing from Isabella. She told me that she preferred to be called Bella, though I was going to call her Isabella until she completely trusted me. I was overjoyed when she chose to listen to country music on the radio.

Her auburn hair glowed in the sunlight, and her face looked as though it was molded by the gods. We were passing Albuquerque when Bella mentioned that she was hungry. Right, she was a human. Humans have to eat. Shit, what do humans eat? I look at Alice and send her a wave of nervousness, which made her smile at me and nod in understanding. I looked at Isabella, "what were you thinking you wanted, darling?" I could see her shift in her seat uncomfortably.

Darling was a bad name to use, obviously. She shrugged, "anything. Nothing that's part of a chain though." So she wanted something unique… Okay, I could handle that. We stopped at the first place that caught her eye, and we sat down. It was a little diner in the desert, and when I looked at the menu, I was glad I had only one choice for diet. The choices were endless, and I was enthralled in looking at Isabella trying to decide what to get.

 **Bella POV**

I sat reading the menu and feeling tension. Not natural tension, it was a fabricated tension, not of my own design. I didn't know what was causing it, though it went away when Alice kicked Jasper underneath the table. I suddenly wanted answers from them. Why was I going to Texas? What as the _point_. "Who am I? Who are you?" I asked, looking specifically at Jasper, "Why am I being torn away from my life to go to a state that has nothing for me?" The three of them looked at me, and Jasper spoke first, "I'll tell you everything in the car, Isa-," That wasn't good enough for me. "No! I didn't ask for excuses. Not from you, especially. I want to know the answers. Now."

I heard a low rumble that seemed to come from Jasper's chest, and Alice immediately gave me a look to know I was out of line in speaking to him like that. "What the hell is up your ass?" I asked, my face now red with rage. "Bella!" Alice exclaimed, half gasping when she said it. "No, Alice. I imagined this would happen. Just drop it, Isabella. I'm warning you." Jasper's face made me know not to fuck with him in this moment. I ordered Chicken Fried Steak, and ate it silently, while Edward, Alice, and Jasper spoke in hushed tones. I finished my meal and they stopped talking, leaving a $50 on the table. What generous tippers.

We got back to the car and Jasper all but shoved me into the back seat. We were on the highway again before he spoke to me. "I want to tell you something, Isabella. I will _not_ be spoken to with such utter disrespect. Here's the truth." Alice looked back, wide-eyed, probably silently pleading with him to go easy on me. He didn't.

"I am the God of War. When you were born, I knew you were my mate. The exact details are not important. The important part is that we are mates, like it or not." I was appalled. This guy decided I was his mate as a baby? He continued, "we are going to Texas so that you may live with me. I waited eighteen years for you, and believe it or not, did absolutely everything I could in those eighteen years to protect you. I will not wait another day to share my life with you. I will not put up with your bullshit. I have written out a list of a few simple rules which I expect you to follow. If you do not, you will be punished, and you will have to wait longer to become a vampire." Become a vampire? That was not in my list of things to do. I was about to tell him to shove his rules up his ass when he handed them to me. Reluctantly I read.

 **Rules:**

 **You will not curse excessively. Not in public, not in private, not anywhere.**

 **You will eat well. Three meals per day at the least. You may snack whenever you wish.**

 **When in public, as human and as vampire, you will address me as Major. This is respectful. In turn, I will address you as Queen, your proper title as my mate.**

 **You will only leave the compound with permission from me only while you are human. This is to ensure your safety at all times.**

 **You will not run away. If you run away, you will be punished in a more severe way than you would be if you broke any other rule.**

 **You will complete school. I have vetted the schools and can allow you to complete highschool. If you wish to go further with your education, we can talk about it.**

I was shocked. I looked at him and was about to spout every profanity I could think of when he put up his finger, "Isabella, I do not mean to infringe on your freedom. I wrote these rules to ensure your safety and well-being, and to promote a healthy relationship between us. Eventually, the rules will be loosened up. You do not understand how powerful I am, or how many enemies I have. I do not wish to force you to do anything but if necessary, I will. As I said before, I will not put up with bullshit." I could feel myself burning up, and a soothing feeling suddenly entered me.

I calmly nodded at him, and smiled, "I can follow these, no problem." What the fuck did I just say? I had a horrible problem with these rules, and I wanted so desperately to tell him that _I_ had rules for _him,_ too. "Yeah?" I started, "Well, I have rules for you too. You are not to control me, and you will not touch me. Mate or not, I won't be touched by such a horrible monster." Edward and Alice had told me all about the God of War. His killing of the Volturi, his justice system. It must be just fairy tales, he has to be a monster. If he can force me into a relationship, he could certainly be more horrendous that their fairy tales. I saw him contemplating his next move, and then in an instant, I was over his knee.

Great, going 75 down the highway and over the knee of some prick who thinks they have a claim on me. "Isabella, I warned you that I wouldn't put up with your bullshit. I will allow you to eventually make rules for me- once you respect me. Until you respect me, I will treat you as the child you're acting like with your outbursts." His hand hit my ass and set fire to it.

I squealed in pain, flailing my legs all around. I made contact with his face, though knew it didn't hurt. He steadied me and grabbed my legs tight. "Don't squirm around. It will prolong this process. I was only going to give you one, but you've forced my hand." I forced his hand- literally. Another swat hit my bottom, which already felt raw, and I cried out, grabbing onto his too-perfectly fitted jeans to keep myself from screaming. "I want you to apologize." He said. "Fuck you," was the last piece of rebellion I could manage.

 **Jasper's POV**

I sighed internally when she said 'Fuck you' and swatted her again. She cried louder than the last time, and I knew she was reaching her limit rather quickly. I hated this, I hated trying to force her to adjust to this all at once. If I hadn't been so stupid- if I had just kept her in her old life before I sent her away, she would know me. She didn't know me, though, and this was the hand I dealt for myself. "All I want is for you to say you're sorry, Isabella. This can all stop, it's up to you."

To get respect, you gotta give it, and I was slowly losing my patience giving her all the respect I had and getting none back. She apologized, sobbing as she whispered the words, and I immediately rubbed her sore ass. I then pulled her close to me, my mating instincts suddenly kicking in. I had to protect her, comfort her. The moment before, I had to put her in her place. I was the dominant, she was the submissive.

In this moment, however, it was done, and I had to comfort her. I held her close to my chest while she whimpered, though she never tried to pull away. I rubbed her back, looking out the window and thumbing lazy circles into the spot where her shoulder blades end. I decided not to correct her emotions, that was for extreme circumstances, I decided. Only when she was about to have a nervous breakdown was I going to calm her down.

I chose to omit the gift I had from her- for now. I felt her emotions change from confusion and fear to a steady contentment. She was sleeping. I waited for a few minutes before I started talking to Alice. She talked first. "I wish you would have let us talk to her about you, too." I wish sometimes that Alice didn't have the ability to see my future. "You know why I couldn't, Alice. It wouldn't have been safe. Yes, though, I wish I would have had you talk to her about me, too." I sighed and Edward's smirked, obviously hearing my thoughts about how inconveniencing the gift of future-seeing was.

 **Edward's POV**

I could read my mate's mind the whole car ride, and it was the most unstable set of thoughts I had ever heard. Alice usually had a clear head. She was slow and methodical with her thoughts, possibly to avoid overloading my own thoughts. She was overly excited at the moment, and her excited thoughts of wondering what color Bella would want to paint the house were mixed in with fearful thoughts wondering how long Bella would resent all three of us for practically lying to her. I sighed and took her hand, giving her a knowing smile, halfway to reassure her, and halfway to let her know that the same fears had crossed my mind as well.

As I drove across the border and New Mexico turned into Texas, I realized that I was happily surprised at the lack of outbursts Bella had. I was almost certain that she would have fought us all tooth and nail to stay in Arizona. The car ride is silent, except for the occasional sleepy groan that comes from Isabella. Suddenly, as if whatever God there was wanted to disturb the peace, Charlotte called Alice. Hushed tones were used, even too low for me or Jasper to catch, and we didn't try. Alice and Charlotte had a special type of bond. Esme and Rosalie joined them in their woman-only club at the compound, along with a few other female vampires around the place, and us boys knew better than to intrude on their private conversations.

Alice said her goodbyes and hung up, and decided to share the conversation with Jasper and me. "Charlotte wanted to let all of us know that Rosalie and Esme went shopping for a bed today. Charlotte and Rosalie got Emmett and Peter to help out in building it. Carlisle was their supervisor." Carlisle brought about a good balance in the boys, and in everyone. The oldest vampire in the compound, he was humble and good. He had turned me, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. I met Alice as a young woman in Philadelphia, back before I was on an animal diet.

I instantly knew she was the one for me, and I turned her. She protested to hell and back to be turned back into a human but Jasper and Carlisle very calmly explained that she couldn't go back. She was so angry at me; I think it took me about fifty years to finally gain her trust. I just hoped it wouldn't take Jasper that long with Bella.

 **Bella's POV**

I woke up when Jasper shook me lightly. "We're here, Bella." He said in a blunt tone. I stretched and looked around to take in my surroundings. A lake big enough for a boat, a town to the right of it, and a building big enough to _be_ a town. "Where are we?" I asked sleepily. Alice picked me up and put me on my feet outside of the car. Jasper was gone, and so was Edward.

"We're in Texas, Bella. This is your new home." She took my hand lightly and started guiding me to the building. "I can't wait for you to meet the girls- well, they've met you, you just don't exactly remember." I could feel shock going through my body, "You mean to tell me," I started, "that I've been here before?" She looked at me and laughed, nodding, "of course! Everyone here loves you. You will be at home." She led me in and bowed in respect to a vampire by the door, "Good evening, Caius! I hope all is well with Athenodora?" He smiled at Alice and nodded in the affirmative. "So this is the Major's mate? Quite a nice looking one. She will be absolutely stunning as a vampire." Caius grinned almost hungrily at me, and I furrowed my brow.

Alice quickly got in front of me. Growling, she warned him, "Don't let the Major hear you say that, Caius. He already questions keeping you alive." Keep this man alive? What the hell had I just walked in to? "And besides," she continued, "he wouldn't need an excuse to kill you if you touched his mate the wrong way. Remember, Caius. Any touch by you is the wrong touch, so I would advise you not to even shake her hand in a friendly greeting." A blonde vampire appeared behind Caius and touched his shoulder. "Now, now, my love, no need to risk your life for a mortal. Don't forget who she is, after all." The blonde vampire looked at me and I felt like she was planning her strike.

"Athenodora," Alice said, smiling, "how very nice to see you again. It's been too long." Edward was at Alice's side in a second, not quite as happy looking as I remembered from my childhood. I felt a pair of hands around my waist and assumed them to be Jasper's, but they weren't. A second after I had assumed wrong, I felt my body soar through the air, and screaming and snarling coming from everywhere.

A vampire was over me in a second, and screamed at me, "No humans allowed here. You're mine now." Before I could even process those words, the vampire was gone, and I had a split second to assess my body. A searing pain was burning through my arm, and I couldn't keep myself from screaming. A brunette vampire grabbed me up and ran to a room, which had a bed and medical equipment. "Carlisle," she spoke quickly.

The male vampire stood up and looked at me, instantly recognizing me, "Esme, what's happened?" He said as he put me on the bed. I was losing blood and consciousness as Esme explained. She also explained to me what has happened, as I hadn't the slightest clue. "Caius and Athenodora distracted Alice and Edward. I think it was Caius's plan. Athenodora seemed shocked when it happened. An old Volturi guard grabbed Bella, possibly not knowing who she was," "Stop right there. I told Jasper keeping any of them around would spell trouble later on." The man said. Esme continued, "She got bit, Jasper had left her side to go make sure their room was up to par, he came back just in time and got the vampire off of her. I was standing in the kitchen, when the noise started, I instantly went to check it out. I grabbed her."

Carlisle sighed, looking at me. His lips were moving but no sound was coming out. Black spots invaded my vision and I faintly heard my name being called. I tried to pull myself out of sleep but the black spots just kept coming. I was screaming inside, trying to relay to the man that I was still here. Everything went black. I was gone.

* * *

 **A/N A little bit of a cliffhanger, but I have a plan, don't worry. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this shorter chapter! I wanted to make it longer, I really did, but my better judgement told me to leave y'all hanging. Until next time!**


	4. The Recovery

**A/N I figured I would switch up the POV a little bit. Here's something new, not as much Bella/Jasper in this chapter, but they'll be back! Please check out _Running to Fate_ , my other fanfiction, which I'm writing for and with a very good friend of mine! I researched drugs for this chapter, as I am not a user myself. I wanted to make this chapter as realistic as possible, so if something's not right, I apologize!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **Carlisle's POV**

Jasper had arrived just seconds after Bella had gone into shock, passing out. "Jasper, she's got venom in her blood. I will try to suck it out but it may be too late." His eyes glistened like the depths of hell and in an instant, I could tell that he was 100% Major. "Major," Esme started, "You should go take care of the vampire-" her remarks were cut short as The Major grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall. This wasn't him, this was The Major, the personality that Jasper had but masked. He was always the Major, always had been and always was going to be.

Esme wasn't in any real danger, all of us knew that. This was a show of power and a show of dominance. There were plenty of dominant personalities in the compound, myself included, though none came close to The Major's, or even Jasper's, when he had his instincts under control. "Major, she wants to help. You won't forget that she was the first one to hold Bella when she came to the compound. We don't want you to interfere in case there's blood." I placed my hand on his shoulder and looked at him, "if you can control your urges, you're more than welcome to stay."

We all had our private spaces. Alice's was the closet Edward had custom built for her on their 50th wedding anniversary, Esme's was the classroom where she taught the human children, Edward's was the concert hall where he performed for everyone once in a while. Mine was the hospital wing. Serving the entire compound, I hired humans and vampires with medical experience. I also worked as Chief of Staff for a hospital in Austin. I had been Chief of Staff back in the early 1900's at the same hospital, but those days were long forgotten.

Jasper returned slowly but surely, and unhanded Esme before nodding that he would indeed stay. I got close enough to Bella to hear that she was all still human, and if I didn't act fast, that wouldn't last. I put an IV in her hand, and hooked a bag of morphine onto the IV stand that hung above her head. I was careful not to start the drip before I did my procedure, as that would dilute the blood stream and force more venom into her body faster than natural. I put my lips to the bite in her arm and sucked out bitter tasting venom. Venom matures as it ages, like wine. The older the venom, the sweeter it tastes. This Volturi guard must have been a newborn when The Major had destroyed the Volturi, he offered Caius and Marcus, as well as Caius's wife and their favorite guards asylum. They live in the compound and are part of the Elder court. All of my coven are also part of that court. The venom was so weak in her blood eventually that I couldn't tell where the venom ended and the pure blood began, so I drank more, just to be safe.

When the coven joined Jasper, we were given a choice of animal blood or human blood. Alice and Edward chose human blood- though they switched back, as did Emmett and Rosalie. The latter of the two couples still switches between their diet choice on a yearly-basis.

When I was done sucking the blood and venom out of her, I bandaged her arm. I then turned to Jasper, though I didn't have to turn very far, he was by her side, holding the unaffected hand. "Jasper," he looked at me, and read my face, which was worried and relieved at the same time, "she will be fine. Don't worry. She just needs to sleep off the medication I gave her, it's morphine and it'll will help with the pain." With that, I flicked the bag of morphine, and started the drip. She would need more before she was released from my care I expected, but I'd learn to stop expecting things of Bella long ago.

After spending about an hour with her, making sure she wasn't dying in the bed, I nodded to Esme and left. Even vampires need to spend some time with their mates. One thing I have learned in my immortality is never to take the immortality for granted. It can be taken from you at any moment. My knowledge of this was reasserted in my mind when I passed the Volturi guard responsible for Bella's state hanging from chains in the front hall.

 **Bella's POV**

I awoke slowly, not like in the movies. First, I could feel again, then my hearing returned. I could see through my eyelids that there was sunlight hitting my face, and I groaned in slight pain as I awoke. I felt a presence near me- no, two of them. The first, on my right, was Jasper, who was staring intently at me. As I blinked, I smiled for a brief instant at his presence. He might actually care about me, staying with me. A sudden fire rushed through my body, and then I felt a bit tired. I was weak, though not in a good way. "What's that? Why do I feel like a noodle?" The person on my left laughed a bit, and I recognized him. The blonde doctor from last night, Carlisle.

"Isabella Swan, age eighteen, 132 pounds, 5 foot 2 inches tall. I thought I got the dosage right. Sorry Jasper, I guess I gave her a bit too much," the doctor invaded my space with a flashlight that blared into my eyes but I didn't care. "She's high. Even intravenously, this stuff usually takes longer to kick in. Guess she still has some in her system." Jasper nodded. The doctor spoke again, this time to me, "Bella, you're alright. You seem to be a little high off of the morphine drip you're on. Nothing to be worried about, it happens sometimes," he gave me a reassuring grin, "this does mean, of course, that you don't get any more after this bag." I nodded, understanding half of what he said, and not caring about the other half. I absentmindedly searched for the TV remote.

A TV had been wheeled in, and I assumed it was for me. Jasper stopped me, "what're you looking for?" I looked at Jasper and furrowed my brow. He should have known, right? "The TV remote, silly." I giggled at him, what a silly goose. "Ah, well, that's not necessary. You'll be going up to our room now."

 _Our_ room? We have a room together? Somehow, I couldn't bring protest to my lips, so I just giggled instead, and said "Whatever."

 **Jasper's POV**

Isabella on morphine was not my Isabella. I didn't quite like it. Some vampires turn to drugs to fine peace with their new lives. I was never one of them, and I didn't particularly like junkies. Isabella wasn't a junkie, of course, but she acted like one all the same. After I had her in bed, I covered her with the sheets to help her sweat out the drugs. I opened the curtains on the windows so she didn't feel as if she was in a dungeon. I knew I would be with her until she woke up, protecting. My mate, already vulnerable due to her immortality state, which was proven to be by last night's events, was even more vulnerable with her injuries, and I had to protect her.

I keyed the numbers in my phone without looking away from Isabella, placing the phone up to my ear. When the other line connected, I started talking. "You're in charge, you know that. Nobody else is as knowledgeable about the compound as you. I need you to take charge until I can reassume my position. It shouldn't be longer than a day." I heard silence, perhaps pondering, I knew the other person would accept my request, they were the most trustworthy of the position. They would get things done with brute force if needed, and had never abandoned me, not even for a day- not really anyway.

The abandonment I felt was when I left them, but they always searched and always found me. My absolute closest ally, and arguably my absolute best friend, if friends existed in this world. The thing about being a vampire is that everybody does everything to get themselves and their allies ahead. Though alliances are deep rooted in the best of cases, one thing trumps and even destroys the strongest and deepest of them all- mates. I knew, however, that I could trust this person, they never gave me a reason not to. "Okay," was the reply I got. I said thank you and hung up.

 **Emmett POV**

After I got the phone call from Jasper, I immediately let everyone in the compound know about his orders. Everyone was respectful of me, and I immediately went to Charlotte.

"Charlotte, report on humans." I stated in a direct manner. My gift, I suppose, was remembering everything. She looked through some papers on her desk and sighed, "There's an outbreak of measles among the ones living in Little Major. Due to the Major's mate already being compromised in health, everyone who comes in contact with the humans is required to decontaminate and stay away from her or the major for 24 hours." I nodded and she continued, "The schoolchildren in all of the other cities are being schooled as usual. Crime has been low, however some of the townspeople have been reporting break ins. We are currently investigating whether a vampire or human is responsible." I nodded again.

"Charlotte, how are the measles being dealt with?" She shook her head, "we aren't even sure how they came to begin with. Carlisle only took Bella in yesterday because it was an emergency that couldn't be handled elsewhere, however it is a pretty infectious strain. They are being re-vaccinated as we speak. They're in quarantine and all of their activity schedules have been changed to rest and sleep until they get better." I looked at her, confused, "what about the other humans' schedules?"

"Emmett, I can assure you that the other humans' schedules have not been changed, except for ones that work in Little Major. All of their schedules have been changed to reflect our no-enter order. They're just taking rest days at home." I nodded again and thanked her for her time. Next person to see was Peter, who had good news- I hoped. "Emm, good to see you. I assume you want to know about the training?" I laughed and shook Peter's outstretched hand. His face was black with soot. "I assume some of the newborns didn't quite perform up to par?" He looked down, nodding, "Some of the newborns are rebelling. I can't sire them as fast as they come up." Siring. Yes. I had never been sired, though newborns made for the purposes of armies often rise up against their leaders. Siring is the process of putting them in their place, so to speak. A leader fucks the newborns into submission, proving to many that they aren't immune to such a thing. It creates respect and trust.

"Ah, I see. That seems like quite the problem. Charlotte's okay sharing you, then?" I was poking fun, mates knew that this was simply fucking, the leader didn't get off, rather, the newborn did, forcing them to respect the sire. Few can break this bond, The Major being among them when it came to Maria. Peter laughed and continued with his report, "other than that, they're a good group. They'll be ready for the corps in no time." I nodded, and reminded myself to tell Jasper that first thing.

The corps were Jasper's own personal army. Bigger by at least ten times than the Volturi guard, the corps were highly trained to protect the compound and kill threats. They were arguably the best at what they did- take out the Major and the Court, and that was all thanks to their strict training regime, put in place by Jasper himself. High performance is the only thing that gets them fed. Anything less than perfect was a guaranteed 24 hour fast. I left Peter and decided to go find my mate the only place I knew she would be- the church.

I walked in and saw her on her knees, praying. It wasn't up to me to control her, I loved her as much as anybody could love anything, and I kneeled beside her, showing respect to the God that she believed in. "Rose-" I started, only to be punched in the face by an obviously angry Rosalie. She glared, and I knew I shouldn't have spoken. Apparently, I remember everything, _except_ for to respect Rosalie when she's praying. I loved how into religion she was. I was not- but I couldn't tell her how to live her immortality.

She was the preacher for the townspeople, who were pretty religious. She didn't sugarcoat things, and they loved her for it. She took them on trips outside of the compound, and they didn't dare leave her. Nothing would have come of it if they had; The Major had made agreements with the government. Her favorite trip as to Mexico a few years ago; they rebuilt a city torn apart by drug use, and converted a lot of the locals to religion. Come to think of it, the compound is like a cult. Nobody wants to leave, though we differ in the fact that people can leave, with good enough reason and a class on the outside world- most were born here- and we don't have mass suicides.

After she was done praying, Rosalie grabbed me into a hug that could rival my own bear hug. I looked down at her and kissed her head. "Any plans for Saturday, baby? I was thinking we could go to Dallas, check out the new sports bar, get some grub." Grub does legitimately mean human food. We can eat it- and we love it. Most vampires don't bother since it doesn't give sustenance, but my wife and I absolutely devoured it. Rosalie rolled her eyes, "There is a wedding on Saturday, then Sunday I have the chapel, but Monday I'm all yours." She smiled, and pulled me in for another hug.

We both knew she couldn't be a pastor forever. The deaths took a toll on her. She wasn't sad for them, rather herself. While they went up to her heaven, she stayed down here, with me. She wasn't ready to give up on her immortality until I chose to believe with her. I hadn't chosen that yet, and it was because I just didn't believe. I couldn't imagine losing her to a God and to continue my existence without her. I would be lost.

We walked out of the church together, and I have to admit, it was beautiful. She's better at explaining it than I am, so I won't even try. We made it back to the compound after about an hour. Too many people stopped us and asked her for an explanation to the measles. She couldn't give one, so instead she prayed with them. When we got to our room, I sat her down. "Rosalie, this isn't sustainable. Two months ago, you told me you were training a new preacher. I have waited for you to be done with this, The Major has, too. He needs you in other places. You went to medical school, and Carlisle sure as hell could use you. Tell me this is almost done."

She nodded and looked up at me, smiling, though with disappointment in her eyes. "I haven't told most of them yet, but this is my last weekend. Then I will be free to help Carlisle. I've already told Jas- The Major." I smiled, happy with that resolution, and held her close. Jasper called me and told me that Bella had woken up and was talking to him. He told me he would be in charge again, and I said okay, exactly the same as I had before. I was happy just to be with my wife right now. I was finally getting her back.

* * *

 **A/N I hope you liked the twist with the other POVs! Rosalie's religion will be explained further in a later chapter. For now, I hope you enjoy that unique little addition to this story. I wanted to stand out, and hopefully, this will help that. I promise, it's a good reason she's religious, and I've run it by several people. Until next time! Also, I tried to take everyone's reviews into account with this one so I hope this chapter is a bit more reader friendly in the paragraph department! I will go back through the previous chapters and make them reader friendly as well.**


	5. A Mate Learns

**A/N Here's the next chapter! I will write a ton of chapters at once but publish them over time to make sure the story has at least some suspense. Enjoy!**

 **ALSO - I am currently looking for a beta reader to read this story and my other story. If you think you can do it- Please PM me. I would like to get the beta reader ASAP**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 **Bella POV**

I awoke at sometime after dark. Stretching, I looked around the barren room. Vaulted ceilings, and more room than I could possibly imagine, I sat up in bed. To my right was a giant bay window. By the looks of the room, there were two more next to it. I stood up and walked over, rubbing my cold arms. My arm yanked on something, and a soft " _fuck,"_ escaped my lips. I had an IV in, and I pulled on it, dislodging it. A tiny pool of blood formed under the surface of my skin, making a bruise that looked much like a purple heart. A few droplets escaped the hole in my hand, and pooled under the tape. I ripped the tape off, and then ripped the IV out. I paid no mind to my hand after that, going to the window to look outside.

The compound was such a titanic expanse that my horizon was a quarter of it- so I assumed. I saw Jasper in this building's backyard, talking to a vampire with dark hair, and lankier than Edward. Jasper seemed focused on this man's words, though angry. His stance looked a lot like Edward's last night when I was behind Alice, listening to Caius.

A hand rapped a faint knock on my door, "just a minute," I chimed, taking a look once again at Jasper, who looked up at the window just as I was stepping away. I didn't see his expression, and didn't hear much at all. This room must be soundproofed, or the others in the building- no, I need to call it what it is, a house, manor, maybe- must have been talking softly enough that my inferior ears couldn't pick it up.

I opened the door, and a blonde woman entered. I recognized her from last night, the woman who had stood behind Caius. "Athenodora, is it?" I asked, unsure of her name, hoping I had it right. She nodded, and motioned for permission to enter the room. "Oh, come in!" I said as I pushed a lock of hair back behind my ear. Blood was practically pouring from my hand, and I noticed it immediately. "Shit! Sorry, come in. I pulled my IV out, didn't think to put pressure on the wound." She cautiously entered, holding her breath and looking uncomfortable. Finally, she spoke, "it's quite alright, I just-" she was staring at the blood coming out of my hand, and the drops that had dripped onto my face, "I just haven't had to hold back before. I'll be alright." Somehow, the tone of her voice didn't reassure me.

I wiped the blood off of my face and held pressure to my hand, constantly looking out of the corner of my eye to make sure she wasn't coming closer. Once I was sure the blood had stopped, I put a band-aid on my hand and sat down in one of the plush chairs that made up a sitting area in front of the bed. I didn't have time to give the room a thorough look over at the moment but I made a mental note to do so as soon as I was alone again.

"What can I do for you?" I asked the woman in the most diplomatic tone I could manage. The door was knocked on again, and without an answer, Alice and another blonde vampire entered, accompanied by Esme and a fourth vampire I didn't recognize. They sat down where they could, though two of them sat on the floor, Esme and the blonde vampire I didn't know. "Bella," Alice started, pointing to Athenodora, "This is Caius's wife. You two met, though I'm not sure if you remember." I nodded and said my own piece. "That's Esme," I pointed to the brunette I knew, then looked at the two vampires I didn't know and said with a furrowed brow, "I'm sorry, I don't know you two. I'm sure we met when I was just a child. I can't remember it though." The blonde vampire looked very familiar. She was from the same dream I had about Jasper when I was young and too traumatized to remember my mother's death.

The brunette one spoke up, while the blonde looked at me smiling, though with a pity-like look undertoning her expression, "I'm Charlotte, love," the brunette started. She had a thick southern accent, and I almost snorted by how old fashioned she sounded. "This is Rosalie. We're the top women in the compound, and we would like to invite you to join us." They all smiled, and Rosalie spoke up, "while you're human, you can join us in our meetings, mostly about how to sabotage the boys and have fun." She winked at me, and all of the women laughed a bit. Alice handed me a box wrapped like a present, "From all of us." She said and I delicately opened the package. No need to give myself injuries opening this gift.

It was a cell phone, preloaded with all of their phone numbers, as well as all of the men in the compound. "Well- gee, thanks, guys" I said. It was sincere, though I obviously had troubles getting that across. Esme grabbed my hand gently, "we can take it back and get you the kind you want if you don't like that one." I shook my head vigorously, "No no, really, I love it!" They seemed to have gotten the message, as they started telling me about the complex. I can really see myself getting along with these girls.

As they all left, Athenodora was the only woman remaining. She looked around before speaking to me. This time allowed me to go and see that Jasper and the vampire were still speaking outside. A little disappointing to me, of course, since I wanted to spend time with him, I think. I didn't know what my feelings for Jasper were. I supposed that I was just trying to acclimate to my new reality by getting to know him- something I had yet to actually do.

I turned back around to face Athenodora, who was standing respectfully and watching me. She had a thick accent, though I couldn't pinpoint from where. "Bella, I do apologize for my husband's remarks last night, and for his attack. I must ask of you a favor." I sat down in the same plush chair where I had sat before, and waited for her request. What could she possibly want from a human? My eyebrows quirked up in a curious manner. "You see," she continued, looking out the window to make sure Jasper was still where he had been before, "The Major punishes by death when it comes to you- I've heard of it. The vampires that killed your mother and got too close to you were killed ruthlessly-" I stopped her, she must be mistaken. "My mother was killed in a car accident, though? She wasn't killed by your kind…"

Athenodora suddenly had fright in her eyes, "Oh, I thought you knew. My goodness, please do not speak of that to anyone, or I will also be punished." She sighed and sat down across from me, "listen, Isabella. My Caius comes from a coven that put vampires above humans- it does not make him a bad person." She was hysterical at this point. I crossed the small space between us, and put my hand on her knee.

She looked up, and I saw something that I had never seen of Alice or Edward- tears. "Bella, I love that man much like you will learn to love The Major. If he dies, I- I can't go on. I will suffer a fate similar to Sulpicia. You don't know who she was, she was a dear friend of mine. Not as dear as the women here are dear to me, though dear in a different, if not more superficial way." Athenodora touched my hand, holding it, rubbing nervous circles into it. "Sulpicia was so torn by the death of her Aro, she simply ceased to exist. She dwells in the old Volturi palace alone, wandering the halls aimlessly year after year, trying to find purpose to no end. You have to understand, Isabella." I nodded, feeling sorry for the woman crying in front of me. "Forgive him, Bella, for he knows not what he does. He comes from a time very different, very conservative. He does not accept you now- but he will. Please, tell The Major not to harm my mate."

Athenodora sat crying, while I tried to figure out what to do. I hadn't spoken yet, as no words had come to mind. I couldn't control Jasper like that, could I? I kneeled down in front of her, "Athenodora, tell me what I can do. I'm sure there's something that will make him give Caius another chance! Just tell me, I'll do it." Athenodora stood up, wiping the tears she had shed with the sleeve of her dress. She turned to face the door, which opened seconds later, Jasper entering. He growled softly, though loud enough for me to hear. He was growling at Athenodora. "Jas-Major. She was having a conversation with me. Nothing happened." He looked at me, then at the floor where the blood from my hand was dripping. He thought she somehow harmed me. I shook my head, "no, the blood, it's from my hand. I did it to myself…" He darted to me, suddenly enraged. "You hurt yourself, Isabella?" Fuck, Jasper, no, I thought in my head. How do I explain this?

I didn't have to explain it. Athenodora, looking at me first with a reassuring nod, then speaking for me, did it. "Major, she pulled out her IV to look at you through the window. I saw it. I entered shortly after with the rest of the women. She did not intentionally hurt herself. Rather a _human_ mistake." She spoke about me in a demeaning manner, and I wasn't quite sure if she truly meant all that she had said before about acceptance. I looked at her confused, though her expression did not change.

The Major nodded, signaling her to leave. He sat me down and handed me a remote, "This is for the television. You may watch it when you're winding down in the evening, or any other time you like- so long as it's not excessive." I nodded and took it. I didn't turn it on, I wanted to speak with him. He was at the door in vampire speed, trying to leave when I looked back up. "Jasper? Where are you going?" He looked surprised and then answered in a rather short manner, "I have business to take care of." He started to leave again, and I knew normal protesting wouldn't get him to stop. "Damnit, Jasper! Come back here!" With a quick turn, he was by my side in an instant, smiling quite wide.

 **JPOV**

Isabella had used a profanity, though I had no intentions to punish her. When she yelled at me to get back over to her, I was giddy, though I tried not to show it. I was happy, she was feeling the urges she should as my mate, even without having been fully mated. That was something that would happen in due time.

In order to mate officially, a vampire has to do a few things. They have to show true love, which builds trust. They also have to consummate their relationship, which builds arousal. The next thing they must do in order to be fully mated, they must bring each other food, This builds strength. That would have to wait until Isabella was a vampire, no human mate had completed that task. The final task in being fully mated was to share blood. A vampire doesn't have normal blood.

A vampire's blood is a venom, which, when ingested, don't hurt even humans. When it's ingested, it can't find its way into the blood stream at a rate where a human ca be turned. It stings like alcohol, and is intoxicating like alcohol- especially to humans. If two vampires are meant to be, this blood sharing process locks it into place. To two true mates, the blood of the other will taste like the best wine in the world. Bella and I would not officially mate until she had accepted me. I was not going to push her to accept anything, and hoped that in due time she would see me for who I was.

I guess you could say I put up my own shield, The Major. He was very good at being straight to the point. I had created him in war, as a human. Most who see me get it wrong, they think Jasper is the mask. He's not, Jasper is the real me, the me that I have yet to show in full stride to anyone in the compound, though hoped that Isabella would soon allow me to show her everything- loving, ruthlessly romantic, caring. I, of course, would always have the Major mask. It was a part of who I was, I could not simply put it down, to do so would almost certainly ensure immediate destruction. To everybody else, Jasper was sweet and fair. I hoped to Isabella, Jasper would soon be everything.

* * *

 **A/N I hope you guys enjoyed that insight into Jasper. He may be a Warlord, but he's a warlord with a conscience! Until next time.**


	6. Happy Birthday, Bella (Part One)

**A/N hello! After an unanticipated hiatus, I'm back! And will be working on both fanfictions, putting more emphasis on this one for now, as I see a direction for it. I have changed my direction a bit, though it won't change too much! What it does change will be for the better. This chapter is focused on showing that Jasper isn't a heartless monster, nor is he a warm fuzzy. He's misunderstood and that's okay. Maybe all he needs is someone who is as quirky as he is. There's a lot of internal dialogue in the first half of the chapter, and that's because in order to show the vulnerability of someone as seemingly emotionally unavailable as Jasper, one needs to dig deeper. Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

FLASHBACK

Alice POV

Everything was just right. I had planned for years, five and a half years, actually, to make this day the best it could be. A cake decorated by the best decorator in Phoenix, a newly laid pool with candles along the sides of it, and Edward, shaking his head and smirking lovingly at the same time. "Al, she's turning thirteen… It's been a long time since we've been thirteen, I realize, but don't they like horror movies and pizza?" I wrinkled my nose at him. He knew the rules. Jasper had laid out special rules for us when he had us move with Bella when she was only four. The rules were arbitrary at best, but neither myself nor Edward took up the matter further with The Major. The rules included organic food diets for the humans, feedings from us on the humans only if they allowed and _never_ Bella, and a ban on Horror Movies.

Just a year ago, Edward caught her watching a Horror Movie. He shut it off quickly and gave her a small spanking, not even enough to make her cry. We were never good punishers, having fallen in love with our future queen, if you will, and helping raise her. Jasper didn't know that of course, thinking we were disciplinarians, and we made him think so, mainly because we trusted ourselves with Bella's care and nobody else.

I made up some excuse to her later in the night, brushing her hair back from her face as she weeped and went on about being controlled unfairly. She even threatened to sue Edward. I laughed and hugged her, "Bells, you know we have strict rules about what you're allowed to watch! You can't be watching movies that are rated PG-13 or higher without asking." She nodded and hugged me back. Isabella should have been called Isabella the Rational. For as long as we knew her, she rationalized situations and picked the right choice, the just choice. If it weren't for The Major having laid claim to her, I bet she would have become a lawyer.

After wrinkling my nose as Edward, I hit him with a towel, "help me prepare! She'll be back from the zoo any minute with her friends!" Jasper was powerful is more ways than he was not. As much planning as we did for Bella's life, Jasper did double. While we had planned a pool party and outdoor festivities at home, Jasper had already made preparations well in advance. When we moved to Arizona, Jasper had pulled favors with the Governor. In exchange for us living there, and ultimately driving out the preexisting vampire population that caused hundreds of missing persons cases each year, Jasper had the Governor sign a secret order ensuring that he could ask for favors at any time, and within reason, they would be given without question.

While everyone thought this was to gain purely political ground and further his power, it was actually to give Isabella the most extravagant childhood ever. Every Christmas, she rode with the Governor in a parade commemorating the lighting of a huge Christmas tree, and every birthday, we would relay to him things she was interested in, and he would create an experience for her which spanned half a day or so.

When she was twelve, Isabella showed a lot of interest in Law and Order (as usual) and animals. Jasper negotiated a trip to the zoo for Bella and two of her best friends, Angela and Jessica. Bella had tried to invite two of her other friends, Mike and Eric, but Jasper was already apprehensive, and when they both came down with the cold within a few weeks of the party, Charlie broke the news to their parents that they were uninvited.

I prepared a dinner, Edward helping read the recipe to me. "Damn these instructions," I fumed, angry that human food as so difficult to make. "Why on earth do I have to put the cheese in _before_ the salt?" Edward laughed at me, scooping me up in an embrace from behind. "Well, dear, humans don't settle for the finest things in life- blood. They have to add all sorts of fancy things to their food." I smiled and continued preparing the recipe I had found from googling _fancy recipes for a birthday dinner_. What had popped up was what can only be described as Gordon Ramsay level cuisine. I ran the dish by Jasper, of course, who probably scratched his head over the phone, "why not just get pizza?" I remembered that the Organic Foods rule had been lifted after he realized organic foods in Arizona were hard to come by and just gross. I told him pizza wouldn't suffice, and Edward laughed in the background, yelling out "I told her a million times to do pizza!" I rolled my eyes and hung up on Jasper, getting back to my delicious dish of… Stuffed chicken or something like that.

Jasper showed up before they got back, in full Major mode, and Edward had to hold him back from destroying the cake. "Jazz, what's wrong?" I asked, skipping to his side and looking into his eyes. We had lived as mates for about ten years, and even though we were no longer romantic, we still understood each other on a deep level. Something was troubling The Major.

JPOV

I always thought of myself as a guardian angel of Isabella. When I planned things for her, I was always there to watch my plans execute themselves flawlessly. I arrived in Phoenix the night before Isabella's party, and watched the house like a guard dog watches their master's. I followed Charlie closely as he drove to the zoo with the girls. Though Isabella was my mate and therefore my top priority, I knew that any harm done to her friends would scar her. I watched over all four of them as they took tours of the behind-the-scenes places of the zoo, my sneaky nature keeping me well hidden from the humans.

One exhibit in their tour, however, didn't go as planned. The tigers were in for a feeding, and I had riled up a particularly large tiger with my presence. Though my dominant stature could normally hush any animal, this tiger was not submitting, and when the girls came to learn about the tigers, which was Isabella's favorite animal, the tiger reached out of the bars which separated it from the humans and took a swing at the girls. It didn't reach them, of course, but the tour guide got a good whack in the back, having been turned away from the animal when it struck.

Charlie pulled the girls away from the enclosure, and then pulled the tour guide back. He kneeled down beside her and did what any good cop would do, he rendered aid.

I immediately left, knowing that I once again left my mate vulnerable to an attack. It wasn't me attacking this time, but it didn't matter. I was like her kryptonite. When I showed up, something happened to her. I ran from the scent of blood pouring out of the tour guide's back, and notified management on the way out of a "scream" I heard while walking past the tiger enclosure. I got in my car and sped to the house as quickly as possible, running into the house and slamming the door so hard, I was surprised when it's fragile wooden frame didn't snap in half. I made my way to my friends, my eyes were definitely black. Alice had a horrified look on her face and Edward held me back. Alice asked me what was wrong, and I broke down.

When a vampire breaks down, there aren't tears. Instead, there's a strong emotional outpouring that, as an empath, I can't stand. Also as an empath, I can project my emotions onto others, though I very rarely do this. This was one of those rare times. The instant I broke down, I felt rage and fear leave my body and enter the body of the two vampires I trusted most. What I received in return was more fear. I could feel my own fear coming back to me, part of the empathy, but I also felt organic fear and organic rage. Edward and Alice were scared.

I didn't blame them. If their leader showed their fear and anger so strongly, they couldn't help but feel it (literally, they couldn't help it, but also, they _wanted_ and _needed_ to feel it). Edward let go of me, reading my mind, understanding. He took Alice aside and told her quietly. Bella was a blocker, and a very strong one. Charlotte first noticed it when Edward stopped giving us updates of her though processes when she was eight. She unknowingly blocked other vampires' gifts from affecting her. Because of this, Alice couldn't see particularly traumatizing visions that involved Isabella.

Alice sat down with Edward at the table, I sat with them. "Jasper," she started, waiting until I looked at her to continue, "I know this is your mate, and I know you think you are 100% responsible to her happiness and safety-" I stopped her there. "I **am** 100% responsible, and you know that, Alice." She put her hand over mine, "no, Jazz, you're not. She's thirteen, and you put her in our care. She's a human, and things happen." She sighed, and looked at Edward, who was better at articulating sentences, he didn't miss a beat.

"Jasper, Alice means that you can't run away because you're afraid you might cause harm. Bella is a human, she isn't invincible like you, not yet at least. You treat her like she's a piece of glass, though, and she's not. She's resilient, and she's great. You're missing out and when she's eighteen you're going to miss the time you didn't see." I nodded, understanding what he meant, but still feeling like I was responsible for the guide being hurt, and for Bella being in danger, if even only for a split second. I waited until they got home safely, and while hiding a safe distance away listened to Charlie tell Alice and Edward about the crazy experience. He had a way of downplaying the serious situation. Then I left to go back to Texas, vowing never to put Bella in unnecessary harm again. I knew I would eventually break that promise, but hoped it wouldn't be until she was at least a vampire.

BPOV

When we got back from the zoo, I played in the pool with my friends. Jessica was talking about how much Mike messaged her on Facebook, and I rolled my eyes, "Alice says Bookface is overrated." I didn't have an account because Alice and Edward told me bad things happen to good people on the internet. I also didn't have a desire. I saw my friends plenty, and used Alice's phone to text them when I needed to. Bookface was my go to term for social media junk. Jessica and Angela always scoffed when I said it, since they knew I was just trying to get them going. I laughed and hugged them, "best friends forever?" They both cheered, laughing and splashing me with pool water. I screamed and splashed back, and we got into quite the splash fight.

After playing in the pool, we sat at the table and ate a very nice meal. I told Alice pizza would be fine, but the chef in her came out today. We were presented with a wonderful chicken cordon bleu. I only knew the term because my mother and I loved watching cooking shows. After finishing dinner, we ate raspberry cream cake and I opened my presents. From Angela, some great pictures of us in a frame. "You can switch out the pictures when we get older, it's not much…" I hugged her and teared up a little "it's perfect, Ang!" She grinned and lit up like a Christmas Tree, happy that I liked it. I was more into sentiment than material, even at thirteen I knew that memories last while _stuff_ fades far away. Jessica got me a movie that I had been dying to see. An action movie about vampires fighting off zombies. I laughed "cool!" Edward and Alice looked at each other and smiled, though I didn't realize exactly why until later that night. "Dad, can we watch the movie? Please?" My father, Charlie, looked at Alice, smiling, before saying "oh… I don't know, pumpkin. Al probably has something else extravagant planned." Alice shook her head no, smiling, and continued off of dad's words, "let's watch it! I've heard it's super good."

Us teenagers cheered quite loudly, happy that we got to watch a funny (and scary) movie. We sat down in the living room, Edward popping in the movie and pressing play. It wasn't what we expected. A vampire overlord had killed the human race in order to feed his army. When they died, some came back, no one really knew why, but they fought back against the overlord, seeking revenge for their deaths. It was a dumb movie, and Jessica and Angela left soon after it was over.

After my friends left, Alice came into my room, where I was playing on the laptop my mom gave me earlier. "Hey, honey. Have a moment?" I smiled at her and waved her in. "Come in, Al." She entered, Edward following, and sat down at the foot of my bed. "Isabella, we have something to tell you. Edward and I- we're… Not what we seem." She looked at Edward and held his hand. "We're vampires. You know how when we hug you, you complain we're ice chests? And how when you punched Edward in the arm, you broke your hand?" I laughed, nodding, "Alice, stop. You guys really liked that movie, didn't you?" She looked at me seriously, "Bella, this isn't a joke." I stopped smiling as much, judging for myself fact vs fiction. "A-are you serious?" I asked. She took my hand and sighed.

"Yes, honey. I am." I looked down, and I felt it. For the first time, I felt the ice. I felt fear. Edward was sitting next to Alice, and I looked in his eyes. For the first time, I saw those too. Amber eyes. What is going on? I started feeling dizzy, and my breathing got heavy. Alice held my hand tightly, and I wasn't opposed to the cool touch right now. My head felt hot as my eyes welled up with tears. I wasn't sad, I was angry. If what they're telling me is true, I'm being lied to, by a lot more people than them. Charlie was not my father. He may have raised me, but father don't lie about _vampires_. "CHARLIE," I screamed desperately, my voice breaking and croaky. "CHARLIE!" He ran in, and must have known what was happening because he was crying, too. "Oh honey… Isabella, don't you cry." Don't cry? Did he know how much this changed my life? Did he realize how much this caused me grief? "Is it true? Is it all lies?"

He hugged me tight, pulling me away from Alice's hand, and knelt down beside me. "You listen to me, Bella. There are vampires in this world and so much more. You have to understand that they aren't like the movies." What movies? the movie I just watched where vampires destroyed the world and killed the humans that came back with a vengeance? "They don't want to hurt you, Isabella." I pulled away from him, angry. If there were vampires in this world, I didn't want to be part of the humans. I motioned for everyone to get out, and grabbed my laptop. I instantly started writing down my feelings. I researched all night to get answers, answers to the questions I had to ask. Why? Who? What? Where? How? When? I didn't find them all, in fact, I found hardly any, but still I wrote down all that I could.

* * *

PRESENT DAY

JPOV

A few days had passed since we brought Isabella home to the compound. She was settling in well, and her welts were mostly gone from the spanking I gave her. I decided to give her time. She hadn't done anything that warranted punishment anyway, but I decided that if she did, I would warn her. A good mate warns their mate when they're in danger before the danger happens. I realized that simple trust from her would go a long way. It was a nice and easy Sunday morning. Human days bled into ours, so we had weekends. During the weekends, the humans in our care could use facilities for rest and entertainment. This Sunday, however, I had every chef from the human settlements come to the main mansion and design a feast.

The feast was for Isabella. They were to make an amazing feast that she would sit down for. The feast was mostly for her arrival, but also a birthday dinner. They were to make a cake as well. I left Charlotte to work with the humans while I went to wake up my mate. I entered the bedroom that was still dark inside from the curtains being closed. I drew the curtains and heard a groan from the bed. I turned toward Bella and walked to the side of the bed. "Wake up, Isabella." She tossed and turned for a moment, trying to settle back in. I pulled the blankets off of her, her body laid beautifully across the bed. "No, let me sleep…" she weakly protested and I pulled her into my arms and away from the bed. She woke up instantly, setting her feet on the ground. "Mmm, I'm awake." She rubbed her eyes and walked to the window, looking out at the compound. "What are we doing today?" I smiled and stood beside her, placing my arm around her shoulders. "We're having a birthday celebration for you." She blushed, putting her head down.

BPOV

"Why? My birthday isn't anything special. No need to go all out for me." Jasper laughed, it was awkward and annoyed, "Isabella, your birth is the _only_ thing I celebrate." I shot him a look, that cannot be true. "Okay," he continued, hands in the air, "maybe one of ten things I celebrate." We both smiled at each other, and I burst out into laughter. "Okay okay. So fine, we're having a celebration," I said, "what do I have to do to get ready?" He cleared his throat and whispered something I couldn't hear. Charlotte, Alice, Athenodora, Esme, and Rosalie all entered. "I'll leave you girls to it," Jasper said, eager to leave once all the girls had arrived. He didn't seem to be one too into fashion.

Rosalie was arguably the most rational of the group of girls. She was mated to Emmett, one of my favorite males at the compound, and she was friendlier than she seemed once you got to know her. I had to make sure I got to spend time with her alone, I made a mental note of that when I first got here. Though I grew up with Alice, if I was to rule a whole species with Jasper and The Major, I needed several people to go to. Rosalie handed me a small tiara. I looked at it confused until Esme spoke up, "It signals that you're the mate of The Major," she said. Athenodora placed a much larger Tiara on the bed, and spoke next, "until you are a vampire, you will wear the smaller one. The larger one was designed by all of the council and The Major just after your birth. It is intended to be worn for the first time when you show yourself to the compound and all of the guests Jasper invites to view your coronation as the Queen. You will be a vampire at that time." I half laughed, shaking my head a bit, "what am I now? A princess?" Rosalie smiled, "yes, you are. You haven't learned everything that comes with that role yet, or the protection The Major requires for you while you're human, mainly because you haven't yet left the compound. Soon enough, though, you'll see that princess is just as big a title as Queen." I was curious now. "So what is Jasper? The King?" Alice laughed, snorting to herself, "Hell no, he wouldn't be caught dead with that title. He's just The Major. That's enough though. Even a human leader that gets word _The Major_ is coming to town will prepare everything perfectly."

I nodded. "Well, what are y'all doing here anyway?" I couldn't believe that word left my lips. _y'all_? I'm from Arizona, home of _you all._ Ugh, I was definitely having a chat with Jasper about that word later. For now, I listened to Esme, the motherly type. She reminded me of Renee, who I had been told about quite a lot by Charlie. I wished I had had a mother, and thought Esme might do the job. "Well, we'll get you ready. Alice special ordered a gown from Vera Wang for this occasion. Then, we'll do your hair, and you'll be able to do whatever you want." I nodded, and without hesitation, told them what I wanted to do. "Can I go see the humans?"

* * *

 **A/N hopefully you guys enjoyed! Review, favorite, and follow!**


	7. Happy Birthday, Bella (Part Two)

A/N Forgive my rusty mistake. I knew that I had written that one of Bella's parents died, and for some reason, thought it was Charlie. The chapter has been updated to show that Charlie is still alive and Renee is not.

* * *

Previously: _"Can I see the Humans?"_

 **FLASHBACK**

Charlotte POV

I was in the grocery store when I got the call. A frantic hushed voice greeted me when I answered the phone. Alice. "Al, what in the hell? Alice, hush now, darlin'. You're talkin' in tongues!" When I wasn't in a formal capacity, I tended to talk with my original thick southern drawl. I was by no means slow, in fact, my gift as a vampire was being able to comprehend just about anything. I was the commander of the humans for this reason. I understood compassion and also understood war. The few times the humans have raised up against The Major, I was there to give them a beat sir, I have given their asses a few good whoopins. "Ali, there's nothin' I can do right here, baby doll. I'll be home soon, I'm shoppin' right now for the humans. Oh- Peter would you stop that?" I hung up the phone and looked back at my mate, who was pushing some fillable wine-bra against his chest. "Darlin', look at this! People can get drunk now a days while wearin' their brassiere! Char, I'm tellin' ya, we was born in the wrong century." I rolled my eyes and snapped my finger back to the rack. We were here to shop.

Especially with my mate, I liked things to pace themselves slowly. My old southern Texas ways got the best of me, and on my worst days, I longed for home and my momma more than anything. I tried to turn her, my momma that is. She was sickly and dying, and I rebelled against The Major and my mate in order to go home and see her. I hugged her tight and waited on her hand and foot for a few days, covering my scent with the dust of the desert that surrounded Houston at the time. With the amount of newborns in the area at the time, there was no way they could have tracked me unless they used a newborn they had trained specially for tracking. My momma was dying quickly by the time they got their wits about them and found me, and instead of punishing me for running from our new army to counter Maria's, they understood. The Major back then had more love and compassion than even my teddy bear of a mate. "Captain, Major, I trust you'll leave me be with my momma. She's fadin' away faster than the sun in a dust storm." After they left to go back to Galveston, I bit my mother. I whispered loving words in her ear as she writhed in pain, trying my hardest to stay strong for her. In the end, my sweet mother couldn't take the pain coupled with her sickness, and when she died, she was good and dead. Venom ain't helped her none.

That was long ago, though, just about 80 years, and most of my memories have to do with her and my daddy teachin' me to ride horses. For all intents and purposes, I was The Major's Lieutenant. Unlike my mate, and much like The Major, I had lapses into a different personality, a different frame of mind. Even 80 years on, I was as stern as ever when I wanted to be.

Shopping back in the Great Depression was so much simpler than now. Back then, especially in Texas, there was usually a fresh killed longhorn or cow, and some dairy and bread. That was it. Now there's processed foods and GMOs and whatever the hell other stuff. I'm glad I don't have to eat this. I get the humans good food. Fresh produce- as fresh as you can get in a county supermarket fifty miles from Austin- and meat. I buy them snacks too when I see fit, but only sometimes. Occasionally I bring along a few of my favorite humans to shop, allowing them to pick out foods for the settlements. Today wasn't one of those days. Today, I brought my mate.

After Alice's call, I took Peter into a more deserted aisle. "Pete, Alice called. Jazz is up in Dallas with Carlisle, and the new baby." Peter leaned against the shelf and laughed, "shit, little bit's been born already? New Queen bee in town, honey. You sure you're okay with that? 'Cause it ain't you me and Jazz against the world anymore." I punched him in the shoulder and rolled my eyes. "Of course I'm okay with it. You and I have been together since 1938, and in that time, we've seen Jasper go from a hostile Maria to a pushy Alice. I love Alice like she's my sister, Pete, and you know I'm so glad she found her love in Edward. That broke The Major, though, and you know it! He joined the Cullens and stopped talking to us, and when she left, that broke him." Peter nodded, and I continued. He knew not to get me going, but he always found a way to! "Now you know," I started, waving a finger in his face, "that this baby means a new era. For all of us. She could be the sun to his moon. If not, he'll keep searching. I, for one, hope she's the one. I sure would love the four of us to become to A-team." I saw a security guard coming up the aisle, probably having just watched the CCTV footage. I rolled my eyes and turned to face him directly. I used my vampire charm to persuade him everything was a-okay. I dropped a glass jar of picked at Peter's feet, knowing the cameras would have obscured it from view. "Now I told you a hundred times that I would do the shoppin' but you just _had_ to pick up that jar of pickles." The security guard came forward, "everything alright, y'all?" I looked as desperate as I could to him, "oh, yes, sir, my husband here just dropped a jar of pickles all over the ground. I am just beside myself, can't believe this would happen." The officer nodded, "no need to worry, happens all the time, ma'am. We'll get someone to clean it up right away."

After shopping for all the groceries, I drove with Peter quickly back to the compound. Emmett and Rosalie met us at the gate. "Charlie," started Rosalie, my best girl friend, "the baby's been born but-" she looked at Emmett, obviously scared to continue. Emmett sighed and looked at Peter, "she was born with the cord wrapped around her neck. I guess it wasn't that big a deal but what with her prematurity, they probably won't be discharging her anytime soon." Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking for a moment. I analyzed the situation, "I'll get on the phone with Carlisle, no big deal. Rose, you come with me, help unload these groceries and tell the human chefs to prepare for the week. Emmett, I want you to help Peter get blood ready for Jasper. While I think I can get us out of this mess, these modern hospitals are all sorts of careful about things." Peter looked at me thankfully. He was in charge of everything on paper, but my gift of wonderful comprehension made me almost always the first to speak up. He nodded, agreeing to my terms, and gave me a quick peck on the lips before heading off with Emmett.

I got to the room of the Elder Court after preparing everything for the humans. Everyone had gathered, awaiting the news of the baby. Esme updated everyone with photos and medical terms we were all quick to ignore. Then they looked at Peter, who looked at me. I nodded, squeezing his knee with my hand. He was in charge of the compound while Jasper was gone. "Alright, y'all. Charlotte is as always the person you'll run to for questions regarding every day household stuff. Just holler at her if you have too many questions. Here's the run down. I will be in charge, along with Emmett, of security. Edward, I need you and Alice in The Major's office tracking any leads of attack and handling any inquiries. As the royal house of the Vampire world, we all know the news will have spread fast. Warm greetings and strikes alike are possible and even probable. Emmett, we'll discuss the exact arrangements of security, but for now we will definitely need to stronghold the compound and send a group of trusted soldiers into the city to protect the hospital. Such a weak mate will make for easy prey." Everyone growled lowly when he said weak mate. Nobody wanted to think of The Major's mate as weak, and they all respected her already.

Peter put his hands up, "now listen, you stop growling. I'm not done with my instruction. Caius and Athenodora, I need y'all to be alert to anybody who comes to give their well wishes to our newly born princess. Thank them, and take any gifts they offer. Esme, you're in charge of medical staff until further notice. Alice, in addition to your task in the office, The Major had a job for you, I believe, to get a nursery set up here, even though they'll likely be headed to Washington." Everyone nodded. The court was dismissed.

Over the next three days, I took charge of everyday tasks and lead the vampires into making sure the smooth machine that was Major Whitlock's compound ran without a hitch. Most of the vampires knew that any misbehaving would be punished severely by The Major, and didn't even try it. The few that did didn't do anything noteworthy, the usual stealing a human for himself. Petty stuff, it would still cause him to die when The Major returned, though. Such a delicate time, The Major would have no qualms about killing anyone. Covens from all over the world called to rejoice about the new baby. Alice and Edward certainly had their hands full, as did Athenodora and Caius, who greeted at least 100 guests and took their presents. I even greeted a guest, Irina, from the Denali Coven, who looked rather depressed. "Congratulations to The Major and his new mate on… well, her birth." The Denali sisters were rightfully anxious about the birth. Their own mother had been killed by the Volturi for child-vampires. I thanked her for her congratulations and she handed me a present, "now, I'm not sure what youngins now a days have, but there's some toys in there, and a crib made of Hickory wood, for the baby. Hand carved by my Laurent." I thanked her again and she was on her way. I made a note in my mind about her behavior. Something was off, but I wasn't sure what it was.

Jasper POV

I pretended to sleep next to her bassinette in the NICU while Charlie and Renee rested in their room. The doctor that was assigned to her care was, of course, Doctor Carlisle, but the nurses weren't my trusted vampires. I wouldn't leave her side, especially in the care of people I didn't know. The nurses did their rounds, stopping to pay extra attention to Isabella, whose heart was fluttering away. When they went back to the nurse's station, I listened to their conversation from afar to get an idea on her condition. "That uncle of hers is awful weird, Marge," the blonde one said. The brunette huffed and put her pen down, "it's none of our business, Gina. If the uncle wants to spend time with his niece, who are we to complain?" I had heard enough. I was hungry, and I needed to get out of there. I walked past them, saying only a few words, "I'm just a family friend, ladies, and I'll be leaving."

I left my mate, now three days old, while I ran to the outskirts of the city. I found a payphone and called Alice's bag phone. Damn thing had horrible reception. "Jasper? Emmett's in Dallas, do you need blood?" I was fighting an urge to slay the entire trailer park behind me. "Yes, I need blood right away. Where is he?" The phone clicked dead. Of course it would lose service right then. Just as I turned around to walk toward the park, Emmett's car pulled up. Thank God for premonitions, right? "Major, we have bags, and also brought some humans. Take your pick." Well fuck me, I wasn't in Major mode, but Alice must have seen something. I chose a human.

She greeted herself as Chelsea, a thirty something year old attorney. She was one of the abducted, not raised in the compound. I rolled my eyes, knowing she would try to fight me. Of course she did, which sent me raging. Humans just _don't_ disrespect me. The Major was out. I let her run, my militaristic attitude wanting to see what she could do. She didn't scream, which was good for her, but boy could that lass run. I ran after her, taking no effort whatsoever in catching up to her. I grabbed her by her neck and smiled at her, a face filled with horror looking back. "Ma'am, you ain't in the real world no more. You belong to me, and I need to feed." She protested- for a second- until my teeth cut into her carotid artery. The blood she gave was warm and bitter, the sign of someone who wasn't a very nice person in their life. I sighed, and shot a glare at Emmett to taking a subpar specimen off the streets. Had she been in the compound, she would have been saved for the newborns.

The night passed by quickly, and Charlotte was in Dallas by morning. I was confused to see her, but she assured me everything was okay. She told me Isabella would be released today. I immediately went to Carlisle.

Carlisle POV

Charlotte approached me just as I was getting into work, "Carlisle, discharge Isabella today." I laughed at her, thinking she was joking, but the daggers she was throwing with her eyes told me otherwise. "Now, Charlotte, you understand she's a baby, and needs care in a hospital, right?" Charlotte nodded, "You're a doctor, Carlisle. You can take care of her. You have all the say on whether she goes home or not." I was horrified by even the suggestion that I discharge the baby. "I could lose my license, Charlotte, or worse, my life if The Major's mate dies in my care." She looked rather displeased, and tapped her foot against the ground. "Well," she started, thinking of a solution, "What if we monitor her, and if she does better, we let her go?" I thought for a moment, it could work, but I would need supplies for the compound. "I'll write down a list of things that need to happen before she can be discharged. If you can get the supplies I need and she does better, I'll release her." She smiled wide, and skipped off, not even waiting for my list. I need a coffee.

Vampires can drink and eat human food, and it tastes the same as it does to humans. The difference is we don't need it and it doesn't do much for us. Coffee is an exception, though. Coffee gives us energy blood can only imagine of giving. It was discovered by The Major that giving coffee to newborns allowed them to stay strong much longer, some even indefinitely. I just like it for the energy, and the taste.

My morning was rather boring, the regular ER cases of Q-tip stuck in the ear, a Gun shot wound, and a motor vehicle accident. Boring to me is stuff I've seen a lot of. The Q-Tip was the most fascinating because people aren't usually stupid enough to push it through their eardrum like this patient was. The other cases were regular traumas which I supervised but didn't get hands-on with.

I got a page that a patient wanted to see me. Swan, Isabella. She was four days old, so she didn't request me. Must be Renee. I hurried up to the Maternity ward, entering her suite with a knock. "Alright, Renee, you're set to be discharged today, actually." I said, looking at my papers. Renee was not the voice that answered. "What about my mate?" I looked up, seeing Jasper. "Oh, hello, Major." He was in Major Mode, and I understood him. I looked at the charts, "Well, her jaundice is gone and her BP is doing well. Tell you what, we'll check her at dinner time and if she's going okay, we'll send her home." I knew in the back of my head, Isabella would be going home that night.

 **PRESENT DAY**

Charlotte POV

Our faces must have all turned to confusion at the same time because Bella asked "What are you staring at?" I looked at Alice, and then everyone else, who was looking at me. I cleared my throat, "I mean, of course you can, darlin'. I just thought you would have been, er, expecting to do something a bit more elegant?" Bella's face turned to anger, and Alice spoke up, "The Major can feel her emotions, he's going to be coming back in." I sighed and looked at Bella, "Now I didn't mean elegant, that wasn't the right term…" I tried to construe a sentence that would better describe what I wanted to tell her. A knock at the door and then the entry of Jasper and my mate told me Alice warned us too late. "Jasper!" Bella said, looking directly at him, "is it wrong that I want to go see the humans?" Jasper's face shifted, My eyes caught my mate's and I mouthed _help me here_ to him. Peter put his hand on Jasper's shoulder, "Sir, the humans are relaxing today. We could show Bella around the biggest settlement but they might try to hurt her."

The humans weren't really a concern of ours- safety wise. They couldn't do much to us, and they knew it. They also knew our eyes, though, and seeing Bella's bright brown eyes would clue them in to the fact that she wasn't human. Her lack of scars from bites fighting with newborns would also clue them in. I nodded, "I can go prepare the humans now. And Bella, I didn't mean elegant, I just meant… Oh I don't know." I left the room, embarrassed.

Bella POV

The girls got me ready, and I apologized for making a big deal about wanting to see the humans. As a human myself, I felt like I could be their advocate. I wanted to make sure they were all taken care of and as their eventual queen, I had every intention of making sure they were treated right… Until they were killed for blood, at least.

I was in my formal wear, wearing my tiara, my hair in an updo, and a shawl protecting my shoulders from the harsh Texas sun. We walked out into the back, toward the settlements, and I saw for the first time just how big the compound was. I couldn't even see the far side of the wall, and assumed it spanned miles. I turned to ask Rosalie about it, who confirmed that the compound was so huge, they had diverted highways around it. I wondered what the humans who weren't aware of its purpose thought it was, but decided to save that question for my mate.

My head got itchy, and I cursed in my mind about the tiara preventing me from scratching the itch, and at the tiara again for causing it. We got in a pick up truck, which reminded me of my first truck, which I had received at sixteen. Thinking about it, it was probably one of the only gifts my father had gotten for me on his own, and thinking about the looks on Alice and Edward's faces made it worth it. _It isn't much_ , my father had told me, _but it's safe, and it'll do the job._

On the way there, I saw the shape shifters for the first time. Huge, brawny men, topless and with tattoos on their arms. "Hey, who are those? Humans?" Esme laughed, "no, sweet heart, they're werewolves. They're from the tribe up in Washington. The one staring at you is Jacob, their alpha. They're good guys." Vampires and now werewolves? What other magical beings existed? I watched the boys run along the car, cheering. I was a little frightened, not sure what to make of it. When they turned back into wolves, Rosalie smiled from the driver's seat, "they're showing off. You seem to have an admirer." I felt my cheeks flush hot, that wasn't right, I was mated, wasn't I? I felt a small twinge of anger rise in my throat, and I bit my lip. Could I not see myself being with anyone other than Jasper? The same Jasper who had me call him The Major in public? The same arrogant asshole that laid a claim to me at birth? I was getting soft. Was I always soft? Fucking hell, why all these conflicting emotions? I huffed, letting the emotions leave my body. Nervousness remained, a small cramp in my stomach made me aware of it. More than butterflies, wasps were buzzing around in my stomach. I was about to meet perhaps the most important part of my future kingdom- the humans.

We arrived at the largest Settlement, nicknamed _The Hub_ and the truck slowed to a stop. I was amazed at the buildings, a steampunk-type city with shabby old 19th century facades. I let out an audible "Ouhhh" noise, letting my fascination show. We stepped out of the truck, and everyone stood still. Some women curtsied, while men bowed. "Ma'am," one man close said, taking off his hat and bowing down, "I'm at your service if you need anything." I was too infatuated with this town to say anything back to him. One girl, about my age, stood out. She was standing in front of the bar, in rags. While everyone else had T-shirts and jeans on, which looked clean, she was wearing scraps thrown together. "One of the slum dwellers," Alice whispered in my ear. I walked over to her, careful not to move too quick.

She seemed nervous, almost afraid of the vampire entourage that followed me. Charlotte was nowhere in sight, and I wondered if that was by mistake or design. "I'm Isabella but you can call me Bella." I offered my hand to her, which she politely declined. Her eyes opened wide and she shook her head, "oh no, Miss. I'll call you queen. Miss Charlotte tells us you're The Major's mate. My name's Brie, Brie Tanner. It doesn't matter much. It's very nice to meet you, Queen Isabella." She curtsied and smiled, her teeth in despair. "Move away, slum dweller," Charlotte called out from about half way down the road. She was walking toward us with what looked like a rod. Brie backed up against the wall, visibly upset and frightened. "No, Charlotte, she was just introducing herself. I approached her." Charlotte ran to us, moving from the road to my side in a blink. "Slum dwellers ain't nothin' to worry yourself with, Queen. They're there for a reason," she glanced at Brie, and jerked her head to the side. Brie moved quickly in the direction of her jerk and disappeared, going around the corner of the building.

Something was off. I knew these people were food, but they were treated poorly. I pursed my lips and gazed at Charlotte, feeling a sense of empowerment, "you don't get to tell me who I can and cannot talk to, _Lieutenant._ " I spat the last word at her, reminding her that she was not above me. Rosalie shuffled in place behind us, "Yep. Definitely The Major's mate." Charlotte smirked, reading my face to see if I was being frank or challenging. She was upset, obviously not used to a human telling her what to do. "Well then I guess I'll be calling you _Major Bitch_ , then, won't I darlin'?" Esme growled, flashing in front of me, protecting me. She was soon joined by Alice and Rosalie. "Don't call her that, Charlotte," Esme started, her words dripping with venom, "I'm sure The Major wouldn't be too happy to hear you call his mate such a term, seeing as she's not allowed to call you that back."

Rosalie continued, "it wouldn't bode too well with any of the men, just as it doesn't bode well with us." I knew in the back of my head that Charlotte wouldn't hurt me. She was challenging the shifting power structure, not yet acclimated to the presence of another boss. I looked at her in the eye, and she stared back, no longer glaring, almost apologetic. "There's no need to make this an issue, guys," I said, trying to break the tension, "it was a friendly feud, that's-" I was swept up, not as violently as the night I had arrived, but violently enough that I tried to elbow whatever grabbed me. It was instinctual at this point to not trust unknown hands grabbing my waist and scooping me up. I was set down, my elbow throbbing, and spun around.

Jasper was there, along with Peter, Emmett, Edward, Carlisle, and other vampires I had forgotten the names of. He was in a pleasant mood, and so were the other men. "What was friendly?" Asked Emmett, I looked down shaking my head to indicate nothing. Jasper sensed something was off, and grabbed me up. He ran me pretty far, the trees and landscape shifting quickly. We eventually got to a meadow, one with a lake in the middle, different from the lake at the front of the complex. I was set down at the edge of the lake, Alice's masterpiece dress now a muddy mess. Jasper apologized, but in a thicker southern drawl than I could remember. I looked up, and realized I wasn't speaking to Jasper anymore. I was speaking to a sexier, more intimidating Major.

"Were you lyin' back there, Isabella?" I looked down and nodded, realizing I had broken a rule. He growled, "don't feel shame. I don't want you to ever feel shame around me." I looked up, intimidated as hell, trying to keep myself together. A whirlwind of emotions, attraction and shame, mixed with confusion and dread were all flooding over me. His words made it worse, I bit my lip to no avail, and my tears started rolling. I'd like to think of myself as a strong person, but with him, the walls come down _already_. It's like my body knows I can be myself, even if I'm trying to fight it. "I-I'm sorry. I did-didn't mean to lie. I didn't mean to disappoint you, Jasper." To hell with The Major, he was Jasper to me. At least right now he was.

He didn't hug me, instead, he sat down in front of me, grabbing my hands gently, "look, darlin'. You didn't lie to me, and even though I would prefer you not lie to anyone around here, you're still new to all of this." I nodded, wiping tears away. He continued, "now I can go and figure out what happened just as well by askin' them as I could askin' you, but I would like to hear it from you instead. I want you to trust me, you're my everything, Isabella." I nodded again, taking a deep breath in and looking at him. "I don't want anyone getting in trouble, Jasper." He didn't say anything, didn't mess with my emotions, didn't move. This was a raw, pure moment where I could choose to tell him or not, and he wasn't manipulating it. "Okay, I- you have to promise to hear me out, okay?" He nodded. "I saw a girl, maybe seventeen or eighteen, a young girl, she was in rags. Alice told me she was a slum dweller?" He nodded again, listening intently. "Anyway, I introduced myself, she looked friendly. Charlotte came up and shooed her away, and I told her I was not to be told by her who I could and couldn't talk to…" I was afraid he'd be upset, his mate defying one of his more trusted associates, instead he was smiling, "you're definitely my mate, darlin'," I broke into laughter, "that's what Rosalie said, too!" He pulled me into a hug, and I could hear a purring sound coming from his chest. It calmed me immensely. "Is that it? You told Charlotte not to tell you who to talk to?" I pulled away softly, my cheerful expression gone, almost in tears again. I shook my head, "I called her Lieutenant, to show I was more powerful than her. I said it like _Lieutenant_ , right? Well, she said…" I was hesitant, worried about what would happen to her. Even though she did me wrong, she didn't deserve to die, which is exactly the punishment my mind went to. "She… called me _Major Bitch._ " I was surprised he even heard it, I couldn't hear it with how softly I said it. He growled and picked me up again, running back toward the settlement. "Don't kill her, Jasper! I don't want her to die!" In my mind, I was doing a noble thing, trying to save Charlotte.

We reached the settlement and I was crying again, I looked at Charlotte, who was leaning against a post. "I'm real sorry, Bella. I said some words I ain't proud of. I was caught up in the moment." Jasper growled, and Peter growled too. Peter got in front of his mate, and they growled at each other for a short while. Rosalie and Emmett grabbed me from Jasper's arms, to get me out of the cross fire. "Bella, we could hear you screaming from up here… He won't kill Charlotte. Don't worry about that, silly. He just needs to teach her a lesson is all." Emmett hugged me after reassuring me, and put me in the car. Peter and The Major stopped growling, and The Major came to get me out of the car. He walked me back up to Charlotte, who smiled reassuringly as well. Alice broke a lot of tension with one simple sentence, "I told you they'd ruin the dress, Edward. Nobody cares about high fashion except me." I think I was the only one amused.

Peter walked up to Charlotte, "you have ashamed me. Today I am more disappointed in you than I ever have been, Buttercup." Charlotte nodded, "I'm disappointed in myself. Disrespectin' The Major's future Queen, when she did nothing to deserve it. I fully accept my punishment." The Major stepped forward, "as leader of the compound, and of the vampires, I have to punish you, Charlotte. Believe me when I say this will definitely hurt you more than it hurt me." With that, he grabbed her head. I was shocked and horrified as he pulled it off of her body, crumbles of porcelain-like flesh going to the ground. Peter picked them up and stuck them in his pocket. Charlotte's voice boomed from the head, "now don't you be forgettin' any of my head pieces, Peter." What the fuck was this? Some sort of comedy movie?

We drove back to the mansion in the pickup, Jasper driving this time. He was back to Jasper mode for the most part by the time we got there. "Did you have to-" I started to ask. He cut me off with a simple "Yes." I nodded my head, fiddling my fingers. I wasn't afraid of him as much as just weirded out. I thought I had walked into an elegant life when in reality, I walked into the plot of Kevin Hart's next knee-slapper. I turned the music up on the radio, eager to cut the tension in the pick up a little bit. "Ew, classical. Gross." I got open jaws from everyone in the pickup, and I looked around, "oh, I forgot y'all were old as fuck." Jasper's hands tightened on the wheel, and his eyes darkened. I forgot I was supposed to be more ladylike. Great. Emmett laughed, "you can put the Queen in Isabella, but you can't take the sailor out of her." I rolled my eyes, but my cheeks were red as roses. Had I embarrassed my mate in front of everyone?

The mansion was totally transformed when we got back to it, cars from all sorts of states lined the drive. Alice came up to me, pulling me away from Jasper, who I had been holding hands with. "Bella, this was supposed to be a get together with just about everyone. The Denalis are here, The Amazons, The Egyptians, The French, and well, everyone really. You look like a trainwreck, and I need to get you changed." Jasper and Edward both came over to us, "Alice, she will be fine to receive guests," Jasper said, "Her feast is hers, not yours. If she wishes to change, let her. If not," he shrugged, "let her." I grinned at him, excited by how happy he was to defend me. Alice nodded and went over to Edward.

Edward smiled, "I can read her again, Jasper." Read? Read what? "She's wondering what I'm reading, and she's also mulling over why she accepts you." He winked, walking away. I was absolutely confused now, and looked at Jasper for answers. "Don't worry, darlin'. I'll explain everything later." I shrugged and walked inside with him, overwhelmed instantly by the people in the room.

Jasper let me meet everyone, and walked away to greet a brown haired vampire with red eyes, staring at me. They looked tense but I wasn't about to walk over and interrupt. A threesome of blondes came up to me, "Isabella!" said the first, who introduced them, "I'm Kate. These are my sisters, Tanya and Irina." I shook all of their hands, and spoke to them for a brief time. They left and several other vampires came up to greet me. I asked them all to excuse my muddy appearance, and most laughed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Irina constantly looking at me, and I was uncomfortable with it. I tried to brush it off as best I could, but she was shooting daggers in my direction more often than not.

After what seemed like two hours, Rosalie made an announcement for everyone to go to the table. We all sat down, myself situated to the right of Jasper, who was at the head. I listened to a speech about friendship and love, and found myself enthralled by his words. When he was done speaking, he sat down, and I leaned over and whispered to him how much I was touched by his speech. He squeezed my knee and we shared a brief connection. Nobody was in the room but us, and I was content. Our connection was cut off short by James, a scrawny looking vampire, making a deal over the food not being served. "Do vampires even eat food?" I asked Jasper. He nodded and took a sip of wine, "we drink, too, Bella. Some just don't see the need. It's not nutritious to us." I nodded and looked down at an appetizing meal of shrimp and pasta.

I had never had shellfish before, and was afraid of trying it. I decided to throw caution to the wind and took a bite. It was great. I paced myself slowly, my throat getting slightly irritated at about the halfway point. I coughed once, and it startled every vampire in the room. Rosalie, who had a power I couldn't explain yet, got up from the table, and came over to me, "are you alright? Your heart's beating fast. And your vitals are strange for a healthy human." This peaked Carlisle's interest, who also came over. I fussed with them, "people are here for me, we don't have to do this now." Carlisle insisted I step into the hospital wing with them, and after pleading with Jasper for help, using only my eyes, I got up and went.

All of the vampires I had grown to love over the past few days were around my bed side. "The Denalis have left, so that means we're homefree," Alice said, walking in from the hall. Rosalie crossed her arms, looking at Carlisle, "when will the swelling go down? I like her better with a normal face." Jasper growled, and Emmett laughed. "It's not funny!" snapped Charlotte, who was closest to me. "I mean, her face swelled up like a balloon, Char. Pretty funny," Edward remarked.

I rolled my eyes, "it's really not my fault I'm allergic to shell fish. My poor face has to suffer!" I pouted and held Jasper's hand. Carlisle rested his hand on my shoulder, "plenty of rest for the night and food in the morning. Preferably not shell fish. Your allergy isn't that bad, luckily, so we don't have to worry too much." I nodded and slid off of the bed, standing up. All of the vampires seemed tensed up, as if to catch me if I fell, I looked around and found an exit in between Edward and Esme. "Well, I'll be in my room I guess," I said, my voice trailing as I walked far away from the hospital ward. _Great_ , I thought to myself, _a week in and you've already gone to the hospital twice._ I sat down on the cough in the massive suite, picking up a remote and turning on the television. There was a knock on the door, and I instinctively called out "come in!"

It wasn't Jasper or any of the other vampires that came in, though. It was the werewolf that had ran up with the car. "Uh… Hello. Jacob Black, right?" I asked, sitting up in a more formal position. He walked over, not really smiling but not looking tense, "yeah, I'm Jake. So you're the Queen, huh? I thought the Queen would be a little more… undead." I didn't know what to say, whether to take that as a compliment or insult. I decided to just listen instead, "listen, I'm not here to hurt ya or anything, I'm a werewolf, as you probably know by now. Anyway, we'll be around if you want more _lively_ friends at any point." I nodded, and then Jasper entered. "Ah, Jake, glad you're in here to make my mate smell like wet dog to me." He said it with a touch of spite but it was all joking, as was evident by his grin, "Isabella, this is Jacob Black, alpha of the pack of wild dogs I let live around here. I thought maybe you'd like some human friends, and he's mostly human. He may be weird, but he's a fine character." I nodded again, not really sure if this was planned or accidental.

My mind wandered to Brie, the slum dweller I had met before. If I became friends with Jake, maybe he could open my eyes to the comings and goings of the humans, maybe I could reconnect with the rag girl. "Well hey, I'd love to hang out. Maybe another time, my face is, well, swollen at the moment." They both chuckled, and Jasper nodded for Jacob to leave. He came over and sat down next to me, and instinctively I buried my head in his shoulder, welcoming the somehow cold warmth of his persona. "Can't anyone hear us in here?" I asked, wondering if our conversations were truly private. He shook his head, "I sound proofed the room. This is the only room that's sound proof. No sound in or out, actually. When you're a vampire, you'll welcome the silence." I nodded, trying to grasp the hearing capabilities of my mate.

I decided I wouldn't bother. Some things are better left to surprise. I'd find out eventually what he could hear, and until then, I'd enjoy being a human. I still had a lot of questions, though, like why there weren't any vampire babies. I would have to ask all of those questions eventually. I also needed to find the girl in the slums again, Brie. I wanted to befriend her, I wanted to befriend all of them. All of that would have to wait, though. Right now, it was my mate and me, and we were cuddling, watching some action movie on the television. Even though it didn't go as planned, I can't think of a birthday where I felt more alive, literally surrounded by the dead. I couldn't think of any other time where I felt so at home, so far away from where I grew up. Jasper felt my emotions of contentment, and maybe even a little happiness, because he pulled me in tighter and stroked my hair softly. _Happy birthday, Bella. Hope it was a great one._ Wait, that wasn't my voice in my head. What the fuck?

* * *

A/N Spooky stuff. Let me know if you guys enjoyed that!


	8. The Blood Tears

**A/N This story is about more than lemons to me. It has a clear direction and is going slower paced than others with similar plots. I assure you, this story has a plot all its own! Please forgive me again for any mistakes, I'm still green after my hiatus. Here's a super long chapter for you with little to no Japser. Lemons imminent (not this chapter).**

 **This chapter is mainly Bella/Jacob. I want to establish a connection and friendship and also explain some things.**

* * *

BPOV

The voice spoke to me the entire time I was with Jasper. Toward the end of our movie, it stopped. I sat up, "did you hear that voice?" Jasper blinked at me, unsure of what I was talking about, "what?" he asked, clearly confused. "The voice… It's been talking to me…" Jasper sat up now, intently staring at me, "what did it say?"

I told him all of the things it said, worried that he would decide I wasn't good enough and throw me in with the rag girl. "Damnit, Isabella. You're not going to _ever_ leave my side. You're mine, stop having thoughts of not being good enough. You're not crazy." I jumped up off the couch, confused and a little annoyed, "I _didn't_ say that. I _thought_ it. What the hell is going on?" He stood up and reached for me methodically, grabbing my wrists, "don't test me, my dear. I really don't want to have to punish you for disrespect on your birthday." It wasn't my birthday! My birthday was over a week ago now! "Bella calm down, I can hear your thoughts, and they're driving me up the wall. You can obviously hear mine too." I was angry now, and still confused. Mind reading? What in the world? "Get out of my head! I don't want you in it!" He dropped my wrists immediately, and I instantly felt bad. "I- I mean I don't want you in it all the time…?" He looked at me again, studying my features, "I've never heard of a thing like this happening before both mates were vampires. I'll have to ask Peter about it. Isabella, sit." I sat down, cursing myself for obeying to someone reading my thoughts, I didn't hardly know this man.

"Calm down, please. Mind sharing is a good sign, it's a sign of true mates. For most, it takes years, decades even to master. For us, one week. Interesting. Very interesting." I was confused, and then I wanted to test it out. _Can you hear me in here?_ I asked. If he truly could, he should respond. He looked at me, grinning, and then without moving his lips, _yes._

I furrowed my brow, why did this happen? It wasn't a bad thing, it just- it wasn't what I expected. Jasper sat next to me, "I've been told, by Charlotte and Peter, who share this gift, that both vampires have to be willing to communicate when it happens. That means you can shut it down and so can I. There's no range in which it will work, it works everywhere so I'm told. Since you're human, it may be limited." Jasper got up, went to the door, and opened it up. "Emmett," he called out into the hallway, not exerting much effort into his voice, "I need you here."

Emmett was quickly at the bedroom door, peeking in, waving. "Emmett, we have the gift of mind sharing." Emmett smiled in my direction, "did he share too many dirty thoughts?" Jasper growled, obviously not amused, feeding into my stress. "Emmett, I want to study this. Now. I didn't expect her to have this, at least not yet. Will you help us test the strength of it?"

Emmett nodded to Jasper and took me outside, seemingly knowing what to do. We tested from various distances, and learned that only one mate has to be willing to communicate for it to work. If Jasper was willing to communicate, I could hear him, but only if I was willing to communicate back could he hear me. This was better than I expected, it could be turned off. Eventually, we were separated with Jasper at the front of the complex and myself and Emmett at the back. I could see lights around us, as if from a settlement, "Emmett, who lives back here?" Emmett shrugged and grinned at me, "This is the slums, it's run down, but the people who live here live here for a reason. So they aren't interfering with the other humans."

I couldn't understand why the slums were so far away. Were these people criminals? I could hardly imagine Brie, the girl I met the day before, hurting a fly. What did I know, though? I trusted my mate to make the best decisions for the compound. Plus, I had a more pressing question. "Emmett, does it worry you that you and Rosalie don't have mind sharing?" He looked at me again, breaking his concentration on protecting me from _whatever was out here_ and sighed, "not all vampires even have the capability. Rosalie and I both do, but we never need it. I would assume we would have the ability to mind share if we were far enough away from each other." I guess that made sense. Jasper had put a claim to me when I was a baby, and we were mates since I was born. We were separated for a lot of years, by a lot of miles.

We found out through trial and error that because I'm human, I can only mind share from the distance of the front of the compound to the back. It was a _lot of distance_ but Jasper wasn't pleased with it. If I left the compound and went too far away while he was still in the compound, he wouldn't be able to communicate danger to me while I was still human. Still, it was an amazing feat that we even had this ability, and Jasper met Emmett and me at the back of the compound, picking me up bridal style and running me back to our suite. God, was he handsome. "Isabella, you had better stop lusting for me." I was confused, wasn't I supposed to? I opened my mouth to protest but he put a finger on my lips to stop me, "I can't be held responsible for my actions if you continue this path of emotions. God, your lust is rolling off of you. So fuckin' sexy…" He growled, eyes darkening, and I felt even more lust, tied in with a little bit of fear. A good fear, the kind that gets your adrenaline pumping. He began running his hands over my delicate body, a firm grasp on my hip, then a tug on my breast.

I arched my back and had to bite my lip, my virgin body wasn't used to these sensations, I hadn't even _touched_ myself extensively. He got a little too rough, cupping my breast with too much force, and I whimpered. The Major was gone immediately, and Jasper came back. Then Jasper left and The Major returned, evidenced by his changing eyes. I couldn't tell what was happening, all I could feel was an ache in my left boob. He grabbed me from the bed and ran me into the bathroom, stripping me naked and growling. I was scared, until he pushed comfort into my mind instead.

JPOV

I was furious with myself. How could I let The Major inside come out during an intimate moment when she was still human? We were in the bathroom, and I had stripped her down, searching for bruises and bites, much like I would when we're both vampires after a battle. There was blood pooling on her breast, but I saw no bite marks, apart from the one I had given her when she was young. "Damnit, Isabella, I told you to stop." I wasn't angry with her, I was just diverting my feelings toward myself. She apologized, a cute apology with a few tears added in. I melted, and instantly wanted to protect instead. "No, no. It was my fault. I need to me more careful when you're so fragile. You're not ready for this, for me, for the mating process to fully complete. I knew that. I am the one who should be sorry."

Until now, I had never apologized so many times to a human. I was hard and unfeeling, unmoved by their peril. She was different, a perfect cross between independent and _mine_. I drew a bath and had her get in, letting her soak until I felt her emotions slowing down, she was tired. I sat watching her as she got out of the tub and adorably tried to stay modest, covering herself with a towel as soon as she could.

I took her to the bed, which she protested because "I can walk, Jasper!" I laid down beside her, allowing her to snuggle up next to me. "Hey, Jazz? Do you think, maybe, we could use the mind sharing for emergencies only until I'm a vampire? I've just been thinking, I have school, and all that. It might be best…" I was taken aback, a little offended that she didn't want to share her mind with me. "I think that's a little too forward, don't you? What if we want to say something to each other and can't?" By the time I was finished with my sentence, she was asleep. I thought about what she said. While I couldn't imagine not hearing her, I guess it was probably for the best.

* * *

BPOV

I woke up to the sunshine hitting my face. Jasper wasn't with me anymore, but I heard the crumpling of paper under my head. I sat up, and turned to grab the paper. It had scrabbling on it, from Jasper. _For emergencies only._ I smiled at that, and stretched. I was going to hang out with Jake today, I had decided. Getting off the bed, I went over to the window, and saw Jake and the other shape shifters. I waved, unsure if they saw me, and ran to the dresser to dress myself.

I threw on what was in there, which weren't the clothes I brought from Arizona. A pair of skinny jeans and an airy floral top, probably made of satin. I finished the look off with a sun hat and sunglasses, and put my hair up in a messy bun. I left the room and jogged downstairs, hoping to catch up with Jake before they ran away.

Rosalie was in the formal dining room, which was the last room before the patio and then the rest of the compound. She stood up, and looked me up and down. "Where's your tiara? If you're going out, you need to have it on. It lets people in the compound know who you are." I rolled my eyes, figuring she was joking, and told her I was going without it. I jogged past her outside. Jake turned his head, looking for the sound of the door opening, and saw me. He smiled and I ran over, "Hey! You said I could hang out?" He waved me over, "well come on, then!" I jumped the steps of the patio and began running to him, while he talked to his buddies, who transformed in front of my eyes into _huge_ wolves, and then ran away. Rosalie came outside, arms crossed. "Don't make me get The Major, Isabella," _geez,_ I thought, _what's up her ass?_ "Rosalie, it's okay, I have a ha-" she rushed over, and handed me the same tiara from yesterday. "Put it on, Isabella. It's not a joke, it's required." I couldn't believe it. I was being pushed around. If it wasn't for Jacob waiting for me, I would have asked to see Jasper. Instead, I took the tiara, "fine, I'll wear it today, thanks Rose." I went over to Jake, deciding not to let it mess with my mood, and put it on.

We got into a golf cart, and I didn't complain anymore, not even to myself. The road was bumpy as hell but it was also nice to be out in the nice weather. _Where are you?_ Shit, Jasper. _I thought this was for emergencies only, Jazz… I'm hanging out with Jake, the guy you introduced me to._ I looked out at the few houses which straggled along the road, almost like outliers in relation to The Hub. Jasper got back to me. _Okay, love. I trust Jake. I won't follow you or have anyone shadow you, you just focus on having good old human fun._ I smiled. Maybe being mated to such a powerful vampire wasn't as bad as I originally thought. As we got closer to the settlement, I saw more and more people walking along the road, some with modern day clothes on, and others who looked like they just walked out of the 70s, 60s even.

We got to town and I was almost overcome by the trail of dust we had left behind us. No paved roads. "How long has the compound been here, Jake? The roads look really worn down." He shrugged and nodded, "they are. We do our best, but Charlotte doesn't see the need to repave them. Over time they deteriorated so much, The Major had to remove them completely. People were getting hurt my big pieces of road crumbling beneath their feet. As for the age of the compound? No idea. Probably not 100 years old yet, but pretty damn close I would imagine. That's a question for your mate, though." I left it at that, not wanting to ruin our time with a barrage of questions. I figured coming back alone, without the entourage of vampires, would build a little more trust. It was Monday now, so most of the humans were working.

They had various jobs, such as barmaids and school teachers, I could make out at least thirteen separate buildings on the quaint main street of The Hub, which looked like a scene straight out of a western. It was cute, but probably not functional whatsoever. I noticed a lack of air traffic overhead for the first time, and came to the conclusion that The Major must have somehow gotten all of his property designated as a no-fly zone. "Bella? Are you with me?" Jacob laughed nervously with his question, I must have zoned out, "oh, yeah. I'm here. What's up?" He cleared his throat awkwardly, ready to repeat whatever he had said to me before he pulled me back from my thoughts, "what do you want to do today?" I nodded, and quickly answered, putting my hands in my front pockets, "I want to see the slums, if that's alright. I'm looking for a girl, Brie Tanner."

Jacob looked conflicted, and smiled a little, letting out more nervous laughter, "look, I don't want to be the one to tell you this, but I'm not supposed to take you there, as per Jasper's wishes…" I rolled my eyes and shrugged, feeling a slight twinge of rebellion in my bones, "I'll take the blame. Come on! Live a little, Jake!" He thought for a moment, probably weighing the pros and cons, "oh come on, Jacob. I am your queen, after all. Do as I say." I said the last part in a robotic voice, hoping to sound cheerful, rather than desperate for answers. Finally he nods, "Yeah? Yeah! Come on, Jake, it'll be fun." With that, he started leading me to a big building with the word _Transit_ written on it. "If I get in trouble, Bella, it'll be your ass." He nudged my shoulder, and I was happy for the banter. Happy for a friend. "Oh yeah, sure thing. If you get in trouble I'll beat my own ass." Jessica and Angela didn't know where I was, and though I wanted to clue them in, I needed to adjust first. Jacob didn't need adjustment, he was as natural, immersed in the same world as I was, and not questioning of me.

"So, this is the train. It runs to all the settlements for the most part. It's truly the lifeline for us humans. I _think_ you're allowed on it?" "I'll ask, give me a minute." _Jazz?_ Silence for a moment. Did he hear me? _Yes, darlin'?_ Honestly the best way to communicate. Talk about end to end encryption. _Can I go on the human transit?_ I needed to think of an excuse that wasn'tthe slums. _Jacob wants to show me some other settlements._ I wasn't completely lying, but my body told me I was treading a dangerous line, Jasper may be understanding, but The Major saw no grey area. _Why not? Have fun, and keep in touch if you can._ "Yeah, he said it would be fine."

Jacob looked a little disturbed, but looked like he understood. I understood his thought process too, someone communicating with their mind right in front of you was enough to make anyone crazy. There was no ticket booth, which I found reassuring. Maybe money wasn't an object to these humans. I would definitely have to study them more. A rickety old steam train towing several passenger cars pulled up. We both stepped on the farthest one, not wanting to get too close to the engine, which was operated by vampires, so we could talk. With a jolt, the train began on its track, toward the next settlement. "So what's the education like here?" I asked, trying to make conversation but also curious. "Oh, you know. Same as anywhere I guess. Us wolves go off of the compound for school. Too many accidents happened where we turned during school due to vampire teachers, so Jasper invested in private education for all of us. We're on scholarship to a really good school. Courtesy of the Whitlock Foundation. I only went to a few grades on the compound, it was decent enough, but the emphasis definitely isn't on education here. It's on good blood." Hairs on my back stood up as I realized the fate of most- if not all- of the humans here. "Do any humans ever get to leave the compound? I mean permanently." Jacob looked at me funny, and quirked a brow, "we're not slaves, Bella. Most like it here, even given their impending doom, more than out there. I guess it has to do with what's familiar. Maybe that's part of the vampires' plans, make life contrast so much between out there and in here, that we'll just accept our fate and be fed on or change into werewolves, the lucky ones with the gene at least." I nodded, and horrible thoughts crossed my mind. I was just glad Jasper couldn't feel them out here.

"This is our stop, Bella." "What?" I looked out the door of the train, which had opened to a field. There was no station, and the train didn't even slow down. "Bella, jump!" I hesitated, confused. Where was I supposed to jump? Jacob pulled me out of the train with him instead, causing me to scream, half out of fear and half out of thrill. Had we just _jumped off of a moving train?_ That was definitely something that wasn't on my bucket list but should have been. Add. Check off. _Isabella, what do you mean 'jumped off of a moving train'?_ Shit, was I sharing my thoughts with The Major still? I definitely didn't want to give myself away. A little white lie wouldn't hurt anybody… _Jake is telling me about his favorite movie, the characters jump off of a moving train._ I hoped that would calm him down, at least enough to not come looking for me. I really wanted to find answers.

I looked at where we landed, studying any identifying features in case I had to ask for help. I noticed a ton of unused, unfinished track. I poked Jake a few times, getting his attention, then pointed at the track, looking at him confused, "Why aren't they running the train on those tracks? They could put a stop at the end of the track, it would be Train's end stop or something." Jake laughed, "oh Bella, there's a lot you have yet to learn about the compound and your mate. That's a _new_ track. The Major bought more acreage about a year ago now. He still hasn't expanded, that's all. The track will eventually go through the slums and weave through new settlements that rise up." I was baffled. Did my mate really intent on breeding more humans? Or were these new settlements a place for the slum dwellers instead? I made sure to make a mental note of this information. I could use it in the future as a bargaining chip. Give a little and get a new settlement for these people. I felt for them already yet hadn't even seen their homes.

We walked about a mile to a shabby little settlement. Slums was honestly a perfect word to describe it. The small homes, which were little more than tents, and the massive overcrowding and smell of raw sewage were overwhelming to say the least. I greeted a few people, who seemed genuinely surprised that someone wearing a tiara and named Isabella was in their settlement. "Queen Isabella. What a pleasure to meet you!" One old lady greeted me like this, sticking out her filthy hand and smiling, broken teeth shining through. I took her hand and shook it, making sure I took a mental picture of her appearance. This was not okay. I reminded Jake we were here to find Brie, and he nodded.

Jacob went around, talking to these people like he knew them personally. It was a sight to see. Jacob must spend a lot of time serving these people, to know them so well. Nobody had seen Brie, and Jacob sighed with defeat. "Bella. She must live on the other side of the slums, come with me though, we'll get dinner before we search for her." Dinner? "Wait, what time is it?" Jake looked at his watch, then back at me, "5:04 pm. Why? We started hanging out at about 3:45 if my time telling is correct… Which it is." He winked and flashed the biggest smile he had flashed yet. A true gem of a smile. I was very hesitant, who knew if these people would try and poison me or something, "wait Jake, why don't we eat at the mansion?" "Why?" Jake asked, in a rather snippy tone. I didn't want to seem rude, so I made an excuse. "What if the food sucks or something?" Jake grinned as we stopped in front of a rather torn down tent. Bigger than others, but tattered to hell, "it better not suck, my dad's making it." With that he disappeared behind the door, if you could really call it that.

What? Dad making food? I wanted to contact my mate and get answers, why are the shape shifters living in the slums? I knew that would bring unwanted attention, and potential punishment, so I decided I'd ask Jake instead. I followed him in. His dad introduced himself as Billy Black, and he was wheelchair-bound. I shook his hand, "it's very nice to meet you, Mr. Black. I'm Isabella." I sat at a picnic chair that helped make up their dining room set, which was a sorry excuse for even a card table. "Would you like to eat, Bella? Sorry, we don't do full names here, but we do have some nice venison, some corn on the cob, green beans. Interested?" That sounded amazing. I had never had venison before, and couldn't really ask Jasper what it tasted like, the answer would have been 'bloody'. "Yes please, Billy, was it?" He nodded, confirming his name for me. He handed me a plate, which was supposed to be Jake's, and prepared a third. "So Jake tells me you're The Major's mate, huh?" "Um, yeah. I guess since birth." Billy nodded, "Actually, I met you before, Bella. You were just a baby, and at the time, I was able-bodied and the alpha of the pack." I looked at Jake, what caused Billy to lose his mobility? "I gave you a gift, the sign of the Guardians. It was mostly old mojo from your mother, who I knew from high school," my mother… He knew Renee… "Oh?" I asked, He continued, "yeah, she wanted her baby protected as much as possible from the 'world eaters'. I told her it was moot point, you were mated to one, but she insisted. You mother…" He chuckled a bit, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head, "oh boy, your mother had spunk." I smiled a little. I hadn't heard this information before. "Anyway, I suspect it's what kept you safe. All those years, traveling and living among them, in such close range. It had to be hard." I cut in at this point, "so wait. You knew my mother? What about my father? You two would get along so well, Billy. A-and sorry if this is a little forward but how did you come to be in a wheelchair?"

Billy looked at Jake, who sat down and was devouring his food like a wild animal. We both rolled our eyes at him. "Your mother knew me because I was the La Push kid who blew her away. We were close-knit, _tight_ , it you will. The pack of wolves you see here is originally from Washington, we agreed to move here to help Jasper, in return he would teach us better ways of conducting business. Your mother and father didn't ever date, weren't you aware of that?" No, I wasn't. I was under the impression they dated all through high school, and married and got knocked up with me right after. "No…" Billy looked at Jake again, who at this point was not going to be of any help to his cause of explaining anything. Not that Jake would know much anyway, "your parents were set up by The Major, to create an offspring that would become his mate. If they didn't produce the offspring he wanted, he would kill that offspring and try again. You were the first, luckily, because we were not at all happy with that contract." A contract? For my parents? What the fuck? I was growing livid. "Oh, well," I looked down, "I think you and my dad would get along nice… He's coming to live here soon, he could use a down-to-earth guy such as yourself to hang around with." Billy smiled, "I would like that very mu- Jake?" My head snapped to Jake, who was now staring blankly at the wall, much like Alice when she gets a vision. "Is he alright?" Billy nodded, "just pack communications is all. Jacob."

Jake came out of whatever he was in, "sorry, I'm still getting used to it all. Anyway, thank you for the meal, dad. Bella, we gotta dash." I said okay hesitantly, having just warmed up to Billy, and followed Jake out. "Bella, Seth and Leah found Brie, they were looking around too, thanks to pack communications, and found her." I cheered inside, happy to have found the rag girl at last. "She's on the other side of the slums. It's more dangerous… Are you _sure_ you want to go there?" I scoffed, "of course, my middle name is danger. I'm mated to a vampire. What can be more dangerous than that?" Jake led the way, and I swear I heard _a lot_ under his breath…

We walked over a make-shift bridge, which ran over a river of sewage, and Jake was holding my hand the whole way, making sure I didn't fall in. I had a few close calls, but Jake steadied me, _nice and easy_ , I kept saying to myself, _nice and easy_. We made it to the other side and Jake led me down a desolate road toward the outside of the slums. "Jake? Why do you guys live here? I mean, I'm sure you guys do a ton for The Major, right?" "We do, but we want to live here, believe it or not." I couldn't believe it, though. Why would his family want to live here? "But why, Jake?" I stopped walking at this point, hoping he'd answer this one honestly. He sighed and turned around, "for the same reason The Major didn't want you here. The people who live in the slums are considered dangerous. They can't be around other humans, or too close to the mansion." I was stunned, how could he say that? He wasn't dangerous. And what about Brie? "How are you dangerous, Jake?" "Bella, stop asking so many questions! You're ruining the mood, gosh!" he was joking. Good. I smiled and followed him as he continued walking.

Two werewolves were standing next to a rocking chair, which Brie was sitting in. Jake introduced them as Leah and Seth, and then commanded them to phase back into humans. Brie didn't look as scared as yesterday, laughing and joking around with them until she spotted me. She got really serious all of a sudden and looked down. I frowned, "hi, Brie…" hoping she'd look up, I walked toward her. She did, "hello, Queen. How was your birthday feast?" I laughed a bit and stood to the side of her, "oh you know, turns out I'm allergic to shellfish. That really sucked for me." She looked confused… Did they not have shellfish here? Oh my God, these poor people. What else didn't they have? "Oh," she started, "that's nice…" I looked at Jake and his friends for help, they just seemed amused at my attempt at conversation.

"Well, Brie, Jake and I are hanging out, would you like to join us?" She looks up, as if I'm telling a sick joke, then looks at Jake. "No, I can't. Not right now. Thanks for the offer, though." I was defeated. I felt like insisting, but Jacob pulled me by my arm, "alright, let's go then. I kind of have a bad feeling." I stared at him, seeing his pleading eyes. I followed him. We walked past the slums, then I got a thought. _Isabella, think about headin' home now. There's dinner waiting for you, and I can't wait to hear about your day._ I smiled, deciding not to get back to him, give some type of surprise as to when I was going to be home. Jake and I are in a meadow again, and I can see the wall from here. It's bigger than I thought it would be, "whoa…" "yeah, Bella, that's about the universal reaction to this bad boy." I glanced at him, "well, it's a nice wall… How… When… Who guards it?" "Bella, get behind me. NOW."

I was confused but did what Jacob said, his authoritative voice telling me he was serious. It was dark now, the wall blocking the western sunset. It was almost pitch black here, even though the sky was a dark red color, with various clouds overhead. In an instant, Jacob phased. I was shocked and worried. What could be happening?

An alarm sounded, two loud buzzes followed by "lockdown," a generic woman's voice coming seemingly from everywhere. _Isabella where are you?_ I couldn't think. _Stop, Jasper! Just stop! For emergencies only!_ I didn't care that this was an emergency, I was feeling fear, too much fear, and I didn't know why.

A second alarm sounded, much different. Two beeps, like the wail of a police siren, only the noise of the siren winding up, a woop woop sound. A man's voice came from the sky this time, "breach. Slums section two." Fuck, I looked up for markings on the wall. I could hardly see the top, but thought I made out a two. Jacob snarled and sprinted toward something in the dark, whimpering on impact with whatever had breached the walls. "JACOB!" I screamed, trying to run toward him, but stricken with fear I couldn't even being to comprehend. Then she was in front of me. Dark red eyes, a black tank top and black jeans, her long brown hair in a braid. My mind screamed _vampire_ and I broadcast it out to Jasper. She just smiled, walking around me for the briefest moment before scooping me up and running. "Hello, Isabella. You're mine now." What the fuck?

We were over the wall of the compound in one jump, and I held onto her for dear life. I had to figure out a way to talk to Jasper. My mind was racing and she kept running. I was trying to keep track of just where we were, and she caught on. "Oh Isabella. You silly silly girl. Stop trying to look for a way out of this." The last thing I saw was the balled up fist she made, and then I felt the contact with the side of my head, and everything went black.

JPOV

In my study, Alice and Edward were helping me prepare for a visit to our friends the Denalis. Isabella's sleep talking clued me into the fact that Irina had creeped her out. This saddened me. As one of our best allies, I needed my queen to feel comfortable around the Denalis. All of them. Suddenly we all heard it, a faint yet distinct sound that alerted to a lock down. All of the humans were mandated to get into their homes. Guards on the wall and automatic sensors helped detect threats coming up to the walls. Shit, where was Isabella? _Isabella where are you?_ My mind was racing, the lockdown alarm didn't necessarily mean someone was coming to harm, just that they were approaching very close to the wall. _Stop, Jasper! Just stop! For emergencies only!_ I felt a slight fear from the thought, my gift allowing me to feel her emotions when she was in contact.

I was pissed, my mate was denying me my right to fucking hear her, to know her location. I snapped at Alice, who looked at Edward, "I don't think I've seen this much Major in him for a while. Something's going on. Scan, Edward." I wasn't myself anymore, I had gone back into the primal, newborn state of The Major. "Let's go. Isabella is defying me. She won't tell me where she is nor will she let me know if she's okay. We're going to figure this out, and then I'm going to punish her." Edward looked weary, I didn't give a fuck.

Peter would know what's going on. He could sense danger and prepare for it. Since Isabella came to the compound, he's gotten less of the senses, and the ones he got were hazy. We were trying to find out why. He was already outside, as procedure, getting the newborns ready to fight, if there was to be a fight. "Peter, did you see this?" Charlotte was sobbing as much as a vampire could, which was hiccups and involuntary chest movements accompanied with sound, no tears were involved, except in rare cases, when tears were blood. She must know something, her ability to comprehend things was incredible. "Major. Oh Major, I just pieced it together. Peter can't see through Bella's gift, none of us can except you." I knew this already, "that information doesn't pertain to him not seeing this, if indeed he didn't." She shook her head, and became too upset to even speak, Edward spoke instead. "Major, Charlotte has figured out that," he cleared his throat, obviously nervous to tell me. I growled, angry that he paused, and also angry that I realized what they meant. "He couldn't see this because the danger was _to_ Isabella. PETER QUICKLY, get the newborns READY. We are headed out in ten seconds."

Ten seconds came and we were out, running toward the alarm, which had now changed to a breach alarm. Someone was _in_ the compound. Isabella projected again, _vampire_. The alarms were right.

When we arrived, Jacob was on the ground, hurt but not dead, struggling to fight the venom that the dismembered vampire next to him had injected into him. I didn't recognize the vampire, but he looked green. Jacob's lack of major injuries besides the bite clued me in. Carlisle tended to him, carefully extracting the venom. "Major I can't read his thoughts yet, he's still in too much pain." I turned back to all of the vampires, glaring, "where the fuck is my mate?" I was done being nice, I was done giving her time. She wasn't allowed back in the slums and Jacob certainly wouldn't have let her go without a fight. She had to be broken. She's gone because she wasn't following the rules.

Finally, Jacob stopped whimpering, and Edward spoke, "this vampire jumped in first, he distracted Jacob while the other one, a female, took Bella. Jacob couldn't stop it from happening. He tried." I nodded, not wanting to cause a scene right here. So Bella is gone. And we don't know why. I looked at Rosalie, who could track well. "Rosalie, do you have a scent?" She sniffed for a while, moving up and down the wall, "Nothing at all, Major. Whoever did this was incredibly sophisticated, not marking anything, covering their scent… I don't even know of any vampires that could do this, Major." Neither did I, and that's what worried me.

* * *

Back at the mansion, the Elder council convened in my office. I paced while everyone offers advice. Caius had the best piece of advice. "Major, we need to wait. Whoever took her is not taking her to kill, it's ransom. We saw this in Volterra often, women would go missing and we would end up with a note or something the next day. They only died 30 percent of the time." That. That was my best suggestion, which goes to show how fucking awful my elder council is at making suggestions. I could literally have thrown any one of them out of the fucking window. I wanted my mate. I needed her.

Emmett sensed my frustration, and stepped back, while Charlotte's pocket started buzzing and she stepped out of the room. I tried listening to her but the suggestions from my council were too overwhelming, I couldn't hear her.

Charlotte POV

In the Major's study, my phone buzzed. Phone call. I stepped out of the room politely and made sure I closed off my thoughts to Peter. Anything I said to him would definitely get to Jasper. I pulled the phone out of my pocket, dropping it on the ground. Jesus, I'm a nervous wreck. Can you even imagine? A vampire dropping their phone? I sighed and picked it up, imagining the names Tanya or Kate or Garrett. No such luck. It was an unidentified number.

I picked it up and said the usual "Hello?", no answer, just laughter. I knew that laughter… "Maria?" The voice on the other line finally spoke, but it wasn't Maria, it was Bella. She sounded woozy and sounded like she was in a building, the acoustics of the sound coming through were inconsistent with being outside. "Charlotte," the voice started, shaky. "I-I've been kidnapped. You don't have long…" The line gave some feedback, as if it was being shuffled around to a new person. "My dearest Charlotte. I thought you were going to be visiting me once the baby was born. I waited and waited and lo and behold, she's no longer a baby." I kept my feelings neutral, avoiding the Major coming out. I knew that if he came out and found out who was behind this, who had Bella, he would go on a rampage, possibly killing.

"What do you want, Maria?" I asked calmly, trying my best to get some more ideas from the sounds I was hearing. "Oh Charlotte. I didn't realize it until now. I had known I had a singer since the day that singer entered the world, though I didn't know who. Can you imagine my surprise when I was innocently paying Isabella a visit and _accidentally_ found out she was mine?" I tensed up, my neutral feelings were getting harder to maintain. Maria went on, "I trust you, Charlotte, which is why I called you. You know my ways, there's no reason behind this… other than to play a few _games._ So let's play a game, Charlotte." "I don't want any part in your games, Maria." I watched the door of the study to make sure I wasn't making too much noise. I listened for a moment and heard them still rambling on. Good. "Oh, but Charlotte, her life depends on it. See, I can forgive Jazzy a thousand times over for leaving," "it's _Major_ , Maria. Major to you, do you understand me? After this, you'll be awful lucky if it wasn't murderer." Maria giggled, an evil, awful giggle I remembered from my days as a newborn. The giggle she gave out before hurting someone. "Charlotte, as I was saying, I can forgive him until the world ends, I really can, but I do not approve of this _human_ piece of filth being his mate." I felt myself changing, I was going into a mindset of the Lieutenant, a war-centric mindset that was hard to get rid of. I wouldn't be able to hide it from the others. I began walking downstairs, as quietly as possible. "Anyway, Charlotte. I heard about your spat the other day with her, shame, really, that the security there is so _lax_ , I can get people in. So you will decide her fate. Of course, whatever the outcome, she'll be dead soon anyway." I could hear Bella crying in the background, and I stepped outside, looking for the way to the wall. "Is this a game of hide and seek, Maria?" "Ding ding ding, dear. You decide now if I give into my temptation to kill her right now, which would be easy enough to do since her blood _calls_ to me, or you decide to play with me, follow instructions like a good girl, and find her before it's too late. Nobody else comes." She knew just where to hit me. On one hand, I loved Bella, despite any argument we had. My head had reattached to my body pretty quickly after the Major took it off, two hours tops. On the other, I had told Maria where to shove it long ago, and told her I wasn't her slave anymore. To be toyed with? It enraged me. "Well, Charlotte?" I knew that no matter what I chose, Maria would play her favorite game of torture with Bella.

Maria's favorite game of torture had to do with venom. She particularly enjoyed biting a human, causing pain for a few minutes, and then sucking it out. She would then give them a few minutes to rest and do it again. Over and over until the human died or submitted to her will. I closed my eyes, thinking. She had to be within a one-hundred-mile radius. Isabella had only been missing for about an hour, there was no way Maria could have gone much farther than that. I bit my lip, thinking.

On the other end of the phone, Maria imitated a clock, _tick tock, tick tock._ I knew my time to answer was short, but I wanted to make sure I was saying the right thing. After all, the Major couldn't know about this… For several reasons. "Maria, I'll play your game, just don't hurt her, not until I can get to her. Send instructions. Now." I prayed to whatever there may be that Bella would remain unharmed. Every vampire in this compound had a bond with her. It was instinctual, she was the leader's mate. My bond with her was showing now.

And then I heard it, a crunching noise and the scream heard around the world. Bella's scream in pain was so fucking loud I startled, and accidentally hit the speaker phone. She pleaded and pleaded as I fished on the ground to grab it, and then screamed again. FUCK. I looked up to the study, and everyone was gathered. Everyone heard it.

I looked at Peter, and then Jasper, unsure of what to do, and then I felt a tear roll down my cheek. A blood tear, the type of tear that only comes when a vampire is in so much distress they can't hold their meal in. I knew they would follow me, but also knew what I had to do. Change of plans. They were coming too, all of them, apparently. I sprinted toward the end of the compound, and my phone buzzed again. I was half afraid to look at it, thinking it might be a picture of Bella in whatever state she was in right now. I picked it up, still running, and opened it.

 **Unknown Number: Go to where it all began. I want to teach Isabella a little about her mate. Make it a history lesson before a nice, delicious meal. –M**

I knew where I had to go, and changed directions slightly, hoping Rosalie could pick up my change in direction before it was too late.

* * *

 **A/N I apologize for the cliffhanger.**

 **To briefly explain Charlotte's clumsiness, she's very upset and also very stressed. She's still a vampire, so obviously has better coordination, but the gravity of the situation got very clear to her, very fast.**


End file.
